Andrea Agathocleous z3332101 Papyrus

PAPYRUS

As a rustic font that has been seen everywhere from homemade invitations to blockbuster posters, Papyrus is definitely one to be discussed.

Developed by Chris Costello, a designer, illustrator and web designer in 1983[1], the font was originally designed by hand with a calligraphy pen on textured paper[2]. Inspired by the texture of the Papyrus paper of the Ancient Egyptians, the font that seeps much culture demanded instant attraction due to its distinctiveness and inimitability. As of present, the International Typeface Cooperation currently owns Papyrus².

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As exemplified in the sample above, Papyrus is a Roman Sans-Serif font that falls in the Ornamental class.  Characteristics include high strokes in the capitals, irregular curves and jagged edges².  

Much like it’s notorious peer, Comic Sans MS, Papyrus has fallen victim to constant scrutiny due to its overuse and exploitation in the design industry, a crime mostly convicted by the novice designer. Amusingly, the fonts own father, Chris Costello has himself slandered the font, accusing it of becoming “diluted” and having “lost its original appeal.”[3]

Unlike Comic Sans however, Papyrus has often slipped through the cracks (pun intended), shifting its prevalence from high school PowerPoint presentations and into surprisingly many logos and advertisements.

The font comes free with an environmental, calming and eastern feel, which gives it a renowned eminence in the logos of Yoga and Thai food places².

Papyrus’ rise to fame does not end at mere branding at local small-scale food and health outlets, however. Its real rise to stardom arose from none other than Hollywood’s film and music industry itself. It’s appearance in heavy metal band ‘Lamb of God’s’ logo⁴ and its casting in the title of Joss Wehden’s 2005 film “Serenity” is enough to cause speculation – but it was not until 2009 where the worst had yet to come.

The most controversial case involving the use of Papyrus occurred in none other than James Cameron’s a blockbuster hit – AVATAR[4].  The font not only embellished the title in Promotional activity, much rather its presence was abundant even in the subtitles  - a position usually only reserved for the most modest sans-serif fonts to aid the eye of the viewer[5]. As exemplified in the image below, the font has been debatably overused in AVATAR due to its raw, earthly connotations.

While the font is often exposed to negative criticism due to its misuse, it is also condemned for its technicality. Moreover, its irregularity specifically with the fonts ligatures makes the kerning of the font quite difficult and near impossible for the designer to perfect. 

Conclusively, Papyrus is a controversial font that most designers can’t help but love to hate. As the best of the worst, Papyrus’ unique qualities and niche appeal mean that after almost 30 years this font is anything but a fad or a gimmick– and we will continue to see its use in years to come.

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[1] Leurs, Laurens. "The Papyrus Font | 30 Typefaces - their look history & useage." Pre Pressure. N.p., 6 September 2011. Web. 17 Jul 2012. <http://www.prepressure.com/fonts/interesting/papyrus >.

[2] "Papyrus (typeface)." Wikipedia. N.p., 29 June 2012. Web. 17 Jul 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus_(typeface)>.

[3] Travis, Estvold. "F is for Font | Investigating Boise's love affair with the prolific Papyrus | Visual Art." Boise Weekly. N.p., 25 June 2008. Web. 17 Jul 2012. <http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/f-is-for-font/Content?oid=937144>.

[4] Dane, Carbaugh. "6 Awful Uses of the Papyrus Font in Major Logos." Dane Carbaugh. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jul 2012. <http://danecarbaugh.com/6-uses-of-the-papyrus-font-in-logos/>.

[5] "Pr*tty Sh*tty: An Open Letter to James Cameron." Pr*tty Sh*tty. N.p., 4 Jan 2010. Web. 18 Jul 2012. <http://prttyshttydesign.blogspot.com.au/2010/01/open-letter-to-james-cameron-from.html>.