You’ve seen them over again. They haunt you when you sleep and when you design. No matter how many times you tell designers not to use these fonts, they still use them anyway. You cringe when someone asks you what you think of their logo design that includes one of these fonts. Here we bring you the ten most overused fonts in design. These fonts tend to be overused and should be avoided like the plague. They are listed in no particular order.
Overused font #1: Times New Roman
Microsoft used Times New Roman as the default for Word, the most popular word processing software, until 2007.
Newspapers like to use Times New Roman. It’s commonplace on many websites. The funny thing about Times New Roman is that as much as it’s overused it probably will continue to stay in style for quite some time.
Overused font #2: Arial/Helvetica
Arial on a PC (Helvetica on a Mac) is typically the first choice for designers that are tired of Times New Roman. 
The only problem is that after using Arial on everything from publications to websites, it becomes the next overused font. If you’re looking for a new font to use instead of Arial, try using Myriad (iPod, Macs, etc.)
Overused font #3: Impact
You’ll find Impact on billboards, posters and logos. It’s bold, but too narrow to be practical. 
Despite its drawbacks, it comes preloaded on millions of Windows machines and therefore has quickly become overused. Search for better bold fonts on www.dafont.com or your favorite font website.
Overused font #4: Papyrus
This font looks different than the standard typefaces that most people are used to seeing. 
To an amateur designer, this is font has a natural magnetic pull to it. In church environments and Christian circles this font really gets overused. Although it may seem decorative and stylish, avoid the desire to use this terrible font.
Overused font #5: Comic Sans
Think party invitations. Think fun. Think goofy. Comic Sans is commonplace in these areas—overused. 
This is another font that comes standard on PCs with Windows and unfortunately you find it everywhere.
Overused font #6: Copperplate
Copperplate is often not seen as an overused font. And it’s true, it doesn’t approach the amount of usage that Times New Roman and Arial do, but it still creeps its way into a lot of designs and logos. 
It’s the first choice for people that want an all caps font and because of that, it’s overused. There are many flavors of Copperplate and Copperplate Gothic, avoid them all.
Overused font #7: Bank Gothic
Bank Gothic runs a close second to Copperplate for the most overused all-capital-letter font. 
In fact the two fonts are fairly similar which is why they are over saturated in designs.
Overused font #8: Garamond
Most will agree that Garamond is a better choice than Arial and Times New Roman. And
it’s slightly less used than those two fonts. Garamond finds its home on a lot of websites and designs.
Overused font #9: Brush Script
Sports, particularly baseball, like to use Brush Script. 
It tends to be the first choice for script fonts and therefore has been considered overused for some time.
Overused font #10: Courier
Courier is another font that will probably always exist and be in use, but still makes the top ten overused list. 
Courier is unique to our top ten list because it’s the only font that has fixed width letters. The letter i takes up as much space as the letter c or o. This was one of the early fonts used in DOS and other command based operating systems.
Additional Overused Fonts: Bauhaus, Bazooka
Next time you see someone use one of these fonts, just send them the URL of this web page and then they’ll know not to use that font again. If you have other fonts that you think should make the list of most overused fonts, then post a comment below.
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Hello! This is Archana, from India. I am a Website Designer and Graphic Designer. I found these fonts really wonderful. Kindly requesting you help me with a link to download your fonts.
Comic Sans makes me throw up.
A few thoughts…
1.) Times New Roman was only the default prior to Office 2007. Calibri replaced it in Office 2007 and 2010. It’s still a very common serif font which works well for body text, but isn’t as useful for eye-catching titles.
2.) Arial is a nearly universal sans serif font. It’s easy to read and doesn’t draw much attention to itself. Again, this can be a good thing for body text and whatnot, but I’ll agree that it isn’t for titles.
3.) Impact gets much of its bad rap for what it is tied to – most of the default WordArt styles in Word 2007 and prior use Impact, and since it’s the same dozen text styles used everywhere, it makes Impact look bad. That’s not to say that I like Impact, it’s just something else to consider as to how it landed itself on this list.
4,5, and 6, no argument there.
7.) I see it a lot on logos and storefront signs, but not so much in design projects. Maybe it’s just me though.
8.) I consider Garamond to be among the nicer alternative fonts to the top two, personally.
9.) Brush Script has a particular advantage in that it’s a well-designed script font. It seems to do very well in connecting the letters together; many script fonts on dafont don’t manage it nearly as well. It may be overused, but when it works and many others don’t, it makes sense to use it if script is needed.
10.) Courier gets used a lot, but it’s also the only fixed width font on the list. If you need characters to line up or if spacing is of some sort of significance, Courier/Courier New is a reliable bet.
Finally, several of the fonts share something in common – they’re HTML spec and thus loaded on virtually every modern computer. Times New Roman, Comic Sans, Arial, and I believe Garamond are all fonts that will consistently, reliably display on whatever computer opens them. Font lists tend to be about as unique as the rest of the software on a given machine, and many of the fonts above are used simply because I can count on them. Ever see someone try to use fancy fonts on a Powerpoint, only to realize that they didn’t embed them? The computer defaults to either Times New Roman or Arial anyway, and the thing looks like a complete train wreck. Yes, you and I as people with an eye for graphic design (you more so than me) will be able to sit there and account for these things, but the average person has a copy of Powerpoint, too. Herein lies the problem.
Joey
Joey, good thoughts here. I appreciate the history you provided on some of these fonts. Thanks for contributing.
I’ve been a graphic designer since before people used computers in this field. I respectfully submit that “overused font” is really not a very valid category. A good designer can spend an entire career designing effective, unique communications–while only using Helvetica! Saying classics like Helvetica or Garamond are overused is like saying the color blue is overused. Rather than asking ourselves if a font is “overused,” let’s ask ourselves if it’s appropriate to the communication task at hand; if the font is well-designed; if it helps our audience understand the message. Having said that, however, I’m with Johnny re: Papyrus and Comic Sans: they have had their day in the sun (If they ever had one). One more point, Johnny, and I hope you take this in the constructive spirit I intend it–no matter what font you use, correct spelling and grammar make all the difference in our communications. We all make mistakes like this; it’s worth having another person check stuff before it goes out into the big world of print or cyberspace.
Noreen, good points here. I agree with you that great designers could get away using the same few fonts and them not feel old. I think you would probably agree with me that most people are not great designers and often settle for what is installed on their system rather than finding the best font for the design.
Thanks for pointing out the typos. I believe I have fixed them all. If anyone else sees ant more mistakes, please let me know.
I am amazed at how much comic sans is still used in print materials and graphics. especially in the mid-west. scary.
John, good article. You could make this even more helpful by providing some suggestions for alternatives for each of the fonts here (maybe leading to the next “over used” font…). Thanks!
Scott, great idea. I will work on this for one of my next articles.
Thank you so much for putting Papyrus on here. I would rather see all 9 of the other fonts a thousand times around my church, just to rid us of Papyrus forever. I do most of the designing and printing of our graphics/promotional material/powerpoints, etc but every once in a while someone in the office will print off a handout of some kind. No matter how many times I beg they don’t use it, 50% of the time, Papyrus shows its ugly head. Thanks for all you do John!
Hey Fitz, I totally agree with you. I must say I was a bit disappointed that the creators of Avatar used it for their typeface.
Where do you like to go to buy some fresh new fonts?
So what are some outstanding underused fonts you would recommend in place of the list above? Instead of Times New Roman you would recommend ????
I think you write off Copperplate and Garamond too quickly. These are classic typefaces that have been around a loooong time–which may be part of the reason they are “overused.” Copperplate has long been a staple of printed invitations (and I’m talking pre-personal computer here), and I think there’s still a place for it.
I agree with Josh about Comic Sans and throwing up.
I agree with Joey that Brush Script is a well-designed typeface. Sometimes even when I don’t want to use it, I end up using it because it is the best typeface for the job. I think that it’s well-designed-ness is precisely what puts it in the overused category. It would be great if someone would create an alternative for Brush Script that works as well as Brush Script.
Personally, I would add Scriptina to your list of the overused. It is a lovely font, but everyone and their grandma is using it for everything.
I’m shocked that Lucida Calligraphy isn’t on the list!
How about Marker Felt? I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen it on billboards and other forms of advertisements. I even fell into a rut of overusing it for a while years ago. Glad I broke that habit.
anyone know what font was used on UNKLE.COM ???
“where did the night fall”
Bleeding Cowboys. It’s a fairly new font on dafont.com and it WAYYYYYYY overused.
Optima. Ugh. I hope I never have to see that one again.
I thought you might get a kick out of this. I used to work at a church, and my paycheque came in Comic Sans. I mean, I know my pay was a joke, but that was just mean.
The treasurer had a real thing for comic sans. Even the budget was produced in it. The budget. *shudder*
And being a bit of a font geek, I started counting papyrus incidences. I got a little depressed after 40.
I noticed in the featured graphic you used for this blog, the word “Arial” is listed and both times it’s listed, it’s in a serif font? Did you mean to put that in Arial?
Thanks Jared, it has been fixed!
What font do use in your logo tagline? Gill Sans?
If by tagline, you mean the phrase “Web & Graphic Design, Photoshop Training” under the Johnny Flash logo, the font is “Myriad Pro.” If you were referring to something else, please specify.
There’s a good reason they are “overused.” Easy to read, familiar, good-looking. I’m not a professional designer; I’m an amateur so I use them a lot. I hate the fonts things are published in so if I’m copying an article for my reading, I always change it to arial. So shoot me. If a publisher wants a designer to use something else, that should be part of the job description. It’s not cheating unless instructions requiring something else have been stated upfront.
Tell you what I hate the most: skinny little fonts on a background that is almost the same color; even skinny writing on black can be a challenge. And writing that goes over several backgrounds–can’t see it!. I’m a boomer; lots of us are my age group, or older and tiny writing gets harder to see with older eyes. Why make it even harder by using a background that renders it almost invisible?
thanxxxxx for this
Let me just say one thing, if any designer CHOOSES to use Papyrus or Comic Sans, they are not a good designer. Those are terrible overused fonts, true but not for designers. I cringe at the sight of them. Bleh!!