If you’ve ever typed “bad UX” into Google and noticed the search results appear in Comic Sans, you’ve just stumbled across one of Google’s playful Easter eggs. This quirky visual surprise is not a glitch, but a clever nod to the design world’s inside joke.
The Comic Sans Easter Egg
Google has a long history of Easter eggs—hidden features or jokes sprinkled throughout its products. From the “do a barrel roll” search trick to Pac-Man playable logos, these little moments of delight keep users entertained.
For design enthusiasts, there’s a typographic twist: if you search for terms like “Comic Sans,” “Garamond,” “Verdana,” or “bad UX,” Google changes the font of the results page to match the theme. In the case of “bad UX”, it switches to Comic Sans (or a similar variant, Comic Neue).
Why Comic Sans Equals “Bad UX”
Comic Sans has become a cultural symbol of poor design choices. While it was originally created to mimic comic book lettering for casual contexts, it gained infamy for being overused inappropriately—from business presentations to memorial plaques.
In the design world, using Comic Sans where it doesn’t belong is often cited as a user experience faux pas. Google’s Easter egg is a tongue-in-cheek way of saying:
“You searched for bad UX? Here, have some Comic Sans.”
How to See It for Yourself
It’s easy to trigger this Easter egg:
- Go to Google.
- Search for “bad UX.”
- Watch the results page switch to Comic Sans.
Try These Additional Font Searches
- “Comic Sans”, “Geocities”, “Design fails”, “best font ever”, “Vincent Connare” and “90s websites” will change the search results to the Comic Sans font.
- “Times New Roman font” or “Times New Roman” will change the search results to the Times New Roman font.
- “Georgia font” will change the search results to the Georgia font.
- “Verdana font” will change the search results to the Verdana font.
- “Tahoma font” will change the search results to the Tahoma font.
- “Arial font” will change the search results to the Arial font.
- “Trebuchet MS” will change the search results to the Trebuchet MS font.
- “Impact font” will change the search results to the Impact font.
- “Calibri” or “Luc de Groot” will change the search results to the Calibri font.
- “Cambria font” will change the search results to the Cambria font.
- “Courier font” will change the search results to the Courier font.
- “Roboto” will change the search results to the Roboto font.
- “Garamond” will change the search results to the Garamond font.
- “Open Sans” or “Steve Matteson” will change the search results to the Open Sans font.
- “Proxima Nova” or “Mark Simonson” will change the search results to the Proxima Nova font.
- “Merriweather font” will change the search results to the Merriweather font.
- “Amatic SC font” will change the search results to the Amatic SC font. This was one of the fonts made by Vernon Adams before his death in 2016. It also works with “Vernon Adams font designer”.
- “Permanent Marker font” will change the search results to the Permanent Marker font.
Why These Easter Eggs Matter
While it might seem like a small joke, this Easter egg reflects Google’s attention to playful user experience. These hidden gems break the monotony of everyday searches and remind us that design can be fun—even when poking fun at “bad UX.”
Next time you want a laugh (or need to explain to a client why Comic Sans is a no-go), just Google “bad UX.” Google will do the teaching for you.
Have you discovered other Google Easter eggs? Share your favorites—they might just make the web a little more fun!