When to be bold

“I’ve just received an entire press release in Comic Sans,” despaired one of my colleagues on the Times and Sunday Times’ travel desk, where I worked last week.

Everyone sympathised before somebody pointed out that this tack had, at least, seen said release be noticed. “Yes,” came the response – “but in a bad way.”

Unsure if I’d find an all-Comic Sans release this egregious, I asked to see the release. And…I can stomach it — though I do get that it looks a bit odd. Like it’s just trying way too hard to be informal, perhaps. (The real crime, in my opinion, is that it’s one of those pesky emails which is unforgivably wider than normal, meaning that readers must continually scroll left and right, in between scrolling down, simply in order to read it. Big fail.)

Whatever my opinion, I’d say the fact that Comic Sans elicited such a derisive reaction from my colleague confirms that it shouldn’t have been used. And this feeds into wider questions. Is it a good option to use less common fonts in press releases? What about employing some bold? Different colours? Capitalising? Italicising? Is underlining a no-no? Bullet points?

Bad news: there are no right answers here, only opinions and preferences. Personally, I think a little emboldening is good – drawing the eye to certain things – but once or twice per release, maximum. Avoid any colour but black; against a white background, it’s easiest to read. Bullets definitely seem great, as they let you say more things in less words, and add space to the page – which in turn makes it look easier to read.

As for less common fonts, yes. I do think using an unfamiliar one might just help you command attention; subconsciously, it will stimulate and awaken its readers’ eyes, making it more noticeable. Just maybe give Comic Sans a miss.

A note on Metro

To follow up on last week’s post, I’ve been told that all pitches for Metro’s travel pages (print or digital) should go to travel@metro.co.uk, rather than directly to Claie Wilson — otherwise they won’t be considered. Generic email addresses like that aren’t always good options, but I’m assured this one is monitored.