Fonts are different kinds of typeface, and they have subtle but powerful effect on how we read and interpret things. For most people, fonts come down to what their professors like on their term papers and MLA format. But any graphic designer worth their salt knows the obsessive-compulsive like feeling when it comes to typography.
Probably the most familiar debate on fonts is the one on Comic Sans. Comic Sans, as explained in the link above, was originally made 'for the little comic book style help speech bubbles in programs like Microsoft word. However, it quickly became popular for use with young children in primary schools & other childcare thanks to its fun, child-like appearance.'
But as it became popular, it became more and more in common for it to be used to type out serious information. There is a critical difference between reading something that says
Anyway, people noticed this trend of its use in serious situations, and it soon became the butt and disgust of anybody whose ever heard of a font. Dr. Ayers linked us to this hilarious article by Mike Lacher, 'I'm Comic Sans, Asshole', which is a monolog by the personified--and angry--comic sans.
Helvetica is often noted for its overuse, and is primarily associated with more 'trendier' groups like Hipsters and teens (like me) who think they're graphic designers. We're not. We're just discovering a world without serif.
I remember I few years back about reading about the power of fonts in an article in Newsweek. Of course, this being Newsweek, and Newsweek being tanked (was anyone surprised? It was a good paper. But when they partnered with the Daily Beast, well, it was only a matter of time...), I can't find any links/sources to where I read it. What I do remember though is that in a study about the uses of fonts in college papers, students who turned in the same papers of the same quality, but used the font Georgia, generally got overall higher scores on their paper, simply because they used the font. I remember that the reasoning was something like: "It's like Times New Roman, so it's trustworthy, but it's not as boring, and not as used as TNR, so it becomes refreshing when someone reads it."
Cracked has funny infographic/chart explaining fonts. An excerpt: "In fact, a true graphic designer will have about 20 fonts on their computer that will be indiscernably different." It's true. The thing about fonts is that it's the littlest things that people subconsciously register about a typeface, that graphic designers have to figure out and craft into an artform: from serifs to slanted edges to thickness to spacing, fonts can be overwhelmingly tedious, especially when you're on crunch time and have to choose between three types of serif for one simple sentence. I'm on the school newspaper. I know.
But I've been playing around with fonts, lately, on my PSE, seeing what I like. This is probably my favorite so far: