Papyrus (typeface)

Costello created the font in 1982, when he was 23 years old and just out of college. He had been studying the Bible and came onto the idea of what a written font would have looked like in biblical times in the Middle East.{{cite web |last=Bey |first=Justin |date=1 October 2017 |title=Papyrus font creator reacts to viral "Avatar" skit from "Saturday Night Live" |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/papyrus-font-avatar-saturday-night-live-chris-costello-ryan-gosling-viral-video/ |access-date=19 February 2024 |work=CBS News}} He hand-drew the font over a period of six months by means of calligraphy pen and textured paper. Costello described his goal as a font that would represent what English language texts would have looked like if written on papyrus 2,000 years ago.{{cite web |last1=Costello |first1=Chris |date=2003 |title=Chris Costello—Interview |url=http://www.costelloart.com/interview.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031003155328/http://www.costelloart.com/interview.html |archive-date=3 October 2003 |accessdate=19 February 2024 |website=Chris Costello official site |quote=I soon came up with what vernacular writing may have looked like if the English language existed 2,000 years ago.}} The following year, Costello released the font alongside Letraset.

Papyrus has a number of distinctive characteristics, including rough edges, irregular curves, and high horizontal strokes in the capitals. ITC, the current owner of the typeface, describes it as an "unusual roman typeface [that] effectively merges the elegance of a traditional roman letterform with the hand-crafted look of highly skilled calligraphy".{{cite web |title=Type Gallery – Papyrus |url=http://www.linotype.com/1085/papyrus.html |accessdate=19 February 2024 |work=Linotype}} Costello sold the rights for the font for $750 ({{Inflation|US|750|1982|r=-2|fmt=eq}}), and as of 2017, states he still receives "very low" royalty payments despite its inclusion since 1997 on all personal computers using a Mac or Microsoft operating system, or Microsoft Office.{{cite news |title=Papyrus font family |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/papyrus |access-date=27 December 2024 |publisher=Microsoft |date=30 March 2022}} In any case, Costello claims "it was not my intent (for it) to be used for everything...it's way overused".{{Cite web |last=Cooper |first=Gael Fashingbauer |date=Oct 2, 2017 |title=Papyrus font creator faces up to Ryan Gosling's 'SNL' skit |url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/papyrus-creator-chris-costello-snl-skit-font-avatar-ryan-gosling/ |access-date=19 February 2024 |website=CNET |language=en}}

Papyrus has been included in many Microsoft programs for Windows, including Microsoft Office.{{Cite web |title=Papyrus - Version 1.11 |url=http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/font.aspx?FMID=1113 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210195844/http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/font.aspx?FMID=1113 |archive-date=10 February 2009 |access-date=19 February 2024 |website=Microsoft Typography}} macOS includes Papyrus font as part of its basic installation (starting with version 10.3 Panther, released in 2003).{{Cite web |title=Mac OS X 10.3: Fonts list |url=http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2444 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918055925/http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2444 |archive-date=18 September 2008 |access-date=19 February 2024 |website=Apple Support}}

Over the years, Papyrus has gained infamy for its omnipresence in graphic design, usually in situations for which it was not intended. The criticism towards the typeface is similar to that of Comic Sans.{{Cite web |last=Ovsyannykov |first=Igor |date=2022-06-22 |title=Why Papyrus is One of the World's Most Hated Fonts |url=https://hipfonts.com/papyrus-font/ |access-date=19 February 2024 |website=HipFonts |language=en-US}} In 2008, a website named "Papyrus Watch" was created for documenting the typeface's ubiquity and misusage.{{Cite web |title=Papryus Watch |url=http://papyruswatchers.blogspot.com/ |access-date=19 February 2024 |website=Papyrus Watch |language=en}}

In the webcomic XKCD a character annoys a "typography geek" by giving her a birthday card printed in Papyrus.{{cite web |author1=Randall Munroe |title=XKCD |url=https://xkcd.com/590/ |website=XKCD |access-date=31 August 2024 |date=May 29, 2009}}

In the movie Avatar, standard Papyrus is used in the subtitles, and a modified version is used for the film's title.{{cite web |last=Kring-Schreifels |first=Jake |date=14 December 2022 |title=The Intertwining History of the 'Avatar' Papyrus Font and the 'SNL' Sketch That Spoofed It |url=https://www.theringer.com/platform/amp/movies/2022/12/14/23507513/saturday-night-live-papyrus-sketch-avatar-james-cameron |work=The Ringer |access-date=18 July 2024}}{{cite book |last=Garfield |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Garfield |title-link=Just My Type (book) |title=Just My Type: A Book about Fonts |publisher=Gotham Books |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-592-40652-4 |page=306}} Its use in the film was highlighted in a 2017 Saturday Night Live sketch titled "Papyrus," featuring Ryan Gosling,{{cite news |last1=Kennedy |first1=Mark |date=1 October 2017 |title=New Season of SNL Roars Back by Mocking Donald Trump Early |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2017-09-30/snl-gears-up-for-new-season-launch-with-gosling-jay-z |access-date=19 February 2024 |newspaper=U.S. News & World Report |agency=Associated Press}} which also claimed that it was widely used for Shakira merchandise, hookah bars, and off-brand tea companies.{{Cite web |last=Brewer |first=Jenny |date=3 October 2017 |title=Designer of Papyrus font reacts to Ryan Gosling's SNL takedown |url=https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/papyrus-font-ryan-gosling-chris-costello-film-031007 |access-date=19 February 2024 |website=It's Nice That}} Jon Landau, the producer of both Avatar films, claims that the sketch helped to keep Avatar relevant during production of the second film.{{cite web |author-last=Jackson |author-first=Matthew |date=9 December 2022 |title=The 'Avatar' Team Saw The 'SNL' Sketch And Designed A New Font For The Sequels |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/yes-the-avatar-team-knows-the-snl-font-sketch |accessdate=19 February 2024 |website=Syfy Wire}} In preparation for the expansion of the Avatar franchise, Avatar: The Way of Water saw the film series change to a proprietary font called Toruk; Papyrus is still used for subtitles.{{cite web |author-last=Perry |author-first=Spencer |date=15 December 2022 |title=Does Avatar: The Way of Water Include the Papyrus Font? |url=https://comicbook.com/movies/news/avatar-the-way-of-water-include-papyrus-font/ |accessdate=19 February 2024 |website=ComicBook.com |publisher=Paramount Global}} Following the release of The Way of Water, Gosling starred in a second Saturday Night Live short called "Papyrus 2" wherein he discovers that despite the sequel's enormous budget, the typeface has merely been changed to bold.{{cite news | url = https://deadline.com/2024/04/papyrus-2-ryan-gosling-sequel-saturday-night-1235884513/ | title = ‘Papyrus’: Ryan Gosling Back For Sequel To Cult ‘SNL’ Skit | first = Nellie | last = Andreeva | date = April 14, 2024 | accessdate = April 14, 2024 | work = Deadline Hollywood }}

Undertale features a skeleton named Papyrus, whose dialogue is written in the font. His brother Sans is written in a similarly infamous typeface, Comic Sans.{{Cite web |last=Ward |first=Travis |date=2021-04-08 |title=Undertale: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Papyrus |url=https://www.thegamer.com/undertale-papyrus-details-trivia/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=TheGamer |language=en}}

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Category:Typefaces and fonts introduced in 1983