Ransom note effect

In typography, the ransom note effect is the result of using an excessive number of juxtaposed typefaces. It takes its name from the appearance of a stereotypical ransom note, with the message formed from words or letters cut randomly from a magazine or newspaper in order to avoid using recognisable handwriting. The term is also used to describe poor typesetting or layout created by an untrained Web developer or desktop publishing user, however the problem is recognised in classical typography which cites handbills from the 18th and 19th centuries as particular examples.

Early versions of the Mac OS, up through System 6, included a bitmapped font called San Francisco that replicated the ransom note effect. The font was not carried over into versions after System 7, though computer font renditions were created by hobbyists.

Example: The stereotypical ransom note

The ransom note effect may also occur when a web browser uses different fonts to display parts of a web page in different languages or encodings. To avoid this, web browsers try to use the same font for as much of the page as possible. [http://mail.nl.linux.org/linux-utf8/2003-12/msg00108.html]

Jim Gettys has warned [http://gnome.org/fonts/] against the danger that collaborative development of Free Software fonts could lead to a ransom note effect, owing to the lack of an overall stylistic vision.