Killer Visual Strategies

CHAPTER 7RULE 4: GOOD VISUAL STRATEGISTS ASK “WTF?!”

“Dogs don't talk in Times New Roman!”

—Vincent Connare, Creator of Comic Sans

In 1994, Microsoft was ready to release Windows 95 to the world. As the creator of the first home-computer operating system, Microsoft was faced with the challenge of introducing this new concept to novice computer users. Oftentimes, one of the best ways to explain a complex new product or service is through a visual metaphor, something that Microsoft has always understood. In the case of the first operating system, the company realized that comparing an OS to exploring a house would provide the best user experience, so they came up with Microsoft Bob, pictured in Figure 7.1.

Microsoft Bob featured a customizable home in which users could explore different rooms to access various associated programs. Items in each room were clickable and many were movable to provide easy access for return users. One of the key features of Microsoft Bob was Rover, a virtual dog who acted as a user's tour guide.

When a beta version of Microsoft Bob was released, a typographic engineer at Microsoft by the name of Vincent Connare quickly took notice of Rover's speech bubbles. Why was this dog speaking in Times New Roman? He reeled at the design choice and looked to comics such as Watchmen and Batman, as well as 1980s advertising, for inspiration. The result was Comic Sans, a font that was inspired by the need to pair visual meaning with the context of the content ...