# The Story of Papyrus—Microsoft's Second-Most Hated Font

**URL:** <https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/the-story-of-papyrus-microsofts-second-most-hated-font/2586>\
**Category:** Tracking with Closeups\
**Tags:** microsoft, font, papyrus, typography, desktop-publishing\
**Created:** [10 January 2023 12:39 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/the-story-of-papyrus-microsofts-second-most-hated-font/2586 "2023-01-10T12:39:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![johnwalker](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/user_avatar/scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/johnwalker/32/17415_2.png) [@johnwalker](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/johnwalker)\
**Post date:** [10 January 2023 12:39 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/the-story-of-papyrus-microsofts-second-most-hated-font/2586/1 "2023-01-10T12:39:05Z")

</div>

[![](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/uploads/default/original/2X/e/e3ed12854e53bdb638348a3a71741cfc2edeefce.jpeg "Papyrus: The World's 2nd Most Hated Font") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t1D3ebc6h0)

In the early 2000s, I hosted (but wasn’t responsible for the content of) a site which was almost entirely designed in Papyrus. It’s [still there](http://fondation.lignieres.org/). All of the text in Papyrus had to be included as images because browsers didn’t support external font definitions and otherwise Papyrus text would not display on non-Microsoft platforms.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![magus](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@magus](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/magus)\
**Post date:** [10 January 2023 16:07 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/the-story-of-papyrus-microsofts-second-most-hated-font/2586/2 "2023-01-10T16:07:23Z")

</div>

Via the defunct [Papyrus Watch](http://www.papyruswatch.com/), whose aim was to “document and expose the overuse of the Papyrus font.”

[Really, NASA Papyrus?](http://www.papyruswatch.com/2011/07/really-nasa-papyrus.html)

[![](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/uploads/default/original/2X/f/f1ad12fcb91373f5dd3c21a534c5898ac5f9c271.jpeg "Shuttle Closeout Crew Says Goodbye") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldlphfRuk1Q)

[Designer Hell fonts, guess which two](http://www.papyruswatch.com/2011/07/designer-hell-fonts-guess-which-two.html)

![designer-s-hell_design](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/uploads/default/original/2X/f/f16e2cbfdae0abfda4bd5011b4a1aa5b62acd1bb.png)