Two Designers Media Announces New True Crime Podcast Based on the Infamous Story of Comic Sans
The trailer for Design Crimes, the newest podcast series from Two Designers Media
CLEVELAND — Todd Coats and Elliot Strunk, the creators behind the hit design and pop culture show Two Designers Walk Into a Bar, announced last week at the PodFest Expo Upfronts the release of their newest investigative true-crime series, Design Crimes: Comic Sans, Who’s Laughing Now?, set to drop on April 15, 2024.
The five-part show, hosted by Strunk and Coats, will explore the history of Comic Sans and Vincent Connare, the infamous typeface creator employed by Microsoft who single-handedly destroyed the aesthetic of hundreds of thousands of printed documents and early web pages, and how he became consumed by the world’s hatred of his most famous creation.
“The more involved I became with this case, the more I started to question Vincent’s unusual method of designing a typeface using only ten minutes and a mouse to create sloppy letterforms,” says Coats. “It was so bad you couldn’t tell if it was planned or not…But then Elliot came through at the last possible second to uncover the motivation behind this typographic crime: Microsoft Bob. All in all, it was such a thrilling—and at times frightening—experience putting together the pieces of this story, and Elliot is the ideal partner to help share what I uncovered with our audience.”
In the first season of Design Crimes, Coats explores the human cost of Vincent’s singular obsession with clumsy, ham-fisted layouts—from the yard sales he’s undermined to the pets that remained missing due to readers not understanding the serious nature of flyers they encountered.
One example of many life-threatening uses of Comic Sans. (Photograph courtesy of Redmond Police Department, case #1995-58001.)
Once Comic Sans escaped from Microsoft and into the world, no one was safe. Like a typographic virus, it invaded the break rooms and interoffice memos of many notable companies including Apple, BMW, and Burberry, along with the Pope’s photo album at the Vatican. As Coats prepares to interview Connaire in person, he grapples with whether he may have accidentally used Comic Sans himself.
This new investigative series from Two Designers Media looks inside the mind of a real-life mediocre type designer and takes you on a journey into both the triumphs and mishaps that dot his decades-long, spotty career. As the story unravels—and Coats is put into uncomfortably close contact with a dangerous suspect—the distinction between “hero” and “villain” gets blurry.
“Listeners will be on the edges of their seats!” proclaimed Strunk. “After all, only deviants and outcasts could sleep at night after making a high school pep rally banner or career day pamphlet using such a typeface. People have tried to get it banned. As a society we need to keep our children safe.”
For more information, visit www.twodesignerswalkintoabar.com or contact Coats’s and Strunk’s public relations representative:
Stanley Lipshitz
Johnson Burns & Leeks
(336) 407-6769
hello@twodesignerswalkintoabar.com