# Bad kerning **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-kerning/669675 "2013-09-25T22:00:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-kerning/669675/1 "2013-09-25T22:00:56Z")
Anyone know of a blog or tumblr that focuses on bad kerning? Google was little help, so I turn to the Dope. T hanks! ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-kerning/669675/2 "2013-09-25T23:19:32Z")
Best I can do is point you to the obligatory XKCD comic > **[Kerning](https://xkcd.com/1015/)** > > I have never been as self-conscious about my handwriting as when I was inking in the caption for this comic. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-kerning/669675/3 "2013-09-25T23:24:18Z")
Not as obligatory as you might think. Do a search for keming blogs - a few popped up relating to bad kerning. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-kerning/669675/4 "2013-09-26T03:50:51Z")
> [@Lionne](#): > > T hanks! I see what you did there. šŸ˜ƒ Iā€™m the guy who did a lot of the ā€œopticalā€ kerning thatā€™s used today, though most have been bastardized. I spent 7 years kerning every font that was available at the time. And I also invented a system to teach computers to recognize characters as actual shapes that lock together like jigsaw puzzle pieces. If I werenā€™t totally sick of it, Iā€™d have my own blog. So what is it that youā€™re looking for, just examples of bad kerning, or something more theoretical? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-kerning/669675/5 "2013-09-26T04:02:48Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I see what you did there. šŸ˜ƒ > > Iā€™m the guy who did a lot of the ā€œopticalā€ kerning thatā€™s used today, though most have been bastardized. I spent 7 years kerning every font that was available at the time. And I also invented a system to teach computers to recognize characters as actual shapes that lock together like jigsaw puzzle pieces. If I werenā€™t totally sick of it, Iā€™d have my own blog. > > So what is it that youā€™re looking for, just examples of bad kerning, or something more theoretical? May I just as an aside thank you for all that work, on behalf of beleaguered readers everywhere? Roddy ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-kerning/669675/6 "2013-09-26T12:50:18Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] Iā€™m the guy who did a lot of the ā€œopticalā€ kerning thatā€™s used today, though most have been bastardized. I spent 7 years kerning every font that was available at the timeā€¦ [/QUOTE] So pretty much any time I look at a typeface and think ā€œHey, those ligatures are really niceā€ I should be thanking you? Do you yearn to kern? How do you learn to kern? It never ceases to amaze me how no matter how arcane or rare, thereā€™s someone on the Dope that has done it. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-kerning/669675/7 "2013-09-26T16:35:55Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > May I just as an aside thank you for all that work, on behalf of beleaguered readers everywhere? I second this thanks! **panache45** , just examples. I was thinking of those user-submitted ā€œPhotoshop Disasters!ā€ blogs where people send in horrible magazine ads and suchā€¦thought there might be one for bad kerning. I actually have an example Iā€™d like to share. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-kerning/669675/8 "2013-09-26T16:39:17Z")
> [@BigNik](#): > > Not as obligatory as you might think. Do a search for keming blogs - a few popped up relating to bad kerning. I like the one that shows what a Google search of ā€˜kerningā€™ does.