After graduating from the New York Institute of Technology, Connare began working as a photographer for the Worcester Telegram in Massachusetts. In 1993 he created a font pack for Apple and Microsoft, which led to a job with Microsoft. While working for Microsoft, Connare contributed to documents on font production as well as the fonts Trebuchet MS, Webdings, and most notably Comic Sans. Connare left Microsoft in 1999 to work towards his master's degree at the University of Reading in England.
While working at Dalton Maag, a typeface design company located in Brixton London, Connare created the Magpie font and designed the Ministry of Sound logo.
Comic Sans
Creating Comic Sans
When Microsoft launched Windows 1995, it featured a new program, Microsoft Bob, that included a cartoon that would talk with speech bubbles. Connare felt that the cartoons in Microsoft Bob needed a less formal looking font; something more suitable for kids. Inspired by DC and Marvel comic books, Connare created Comic Sans in 1994 by using a mouse and cursor to draw intentionally sloppy letters. Microsoft Bob inevitably faded into obscurity, but Comic Sans secured its legacy after quickly getting adopted by the Walt Disney Company.
Reception
Soon after Connare created Comic Sans the font was adopted by many notable companies including Apple, BMW, and Burberry. Despite the font's commercial success, it is controversial and its detractors are passionate. The hatred goes so far that a group of Canadians campaigned to ban the font in 2005. Connare has not been deterred by the negative backlash to his creation; in fact, at the Fourth Annual Boring Conference Connare said he found the contempt for his work to be "mildly amusing". Comic Sans has become very widely used in applications ranging from newspapers titles and store signs, to the Spanish world cup trophy and the Pope's photo album at the Vatican. Connare has stated that he is very proud of the font, offering different rationales. Arguing that "Comic Sans does what it was commissioned to do, it is loved by kids, mums and many dads. So it did its job very well. It matched the brief!" He has also referred to it as "the best joke I've ever told." Comic Sans is a particularly popular font; in fact, Simon Garfield's new book on fonts, “Just My Type”, devotes the first chapter to Comic Sans. Comic Sans is also listed in the book “How to Design a Typeface” by the Design Museum in London, which was reviewed in newspapers across London. Comic Sans has also featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
