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40 Times People Didn’t Take Letter Spacing Into Consideration And It Resulted In These Fails
Kerning is the process of adjusting the spacing between individual characters in a font. This is done to achieve a visually pleasing and balanced appearance of the text. But as with most things, every now and then, things can go wrong.
Put the symbols too close or too far from one another and you end up with awkward or humorous typography. For example, if a company wanted to make a poster advertising their "cleaning" services but made the spacing between the letters "c" and "l" too tight, it can create the word "dining" instead.
The funny part is that such mistakes are more common than we might think. And the Facebook group 'The Real Crime Is That Kerning' has all the proof. Here are some of their finds.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Fail
Joshua Moore 2 years ago
"The day is mine Trebek. I'll take penis mightier"
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Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
Reminds me of the "Experts Exchange" website which was originally "www.expertsexchange.com"
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
I remember on a tv show someone had the website partsexchange.com when they were selling/swapping car parts
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WiggleJiggle the Emo Penguin 2 years ago (edited)
BP didn’t censor this but censored the word “k**b”? Edit: I wasn’t the one who censored that. It’s supposed to say K-n-o-b
Stephen Lyford 2 years ago
This reminds me of a great restaurant in Philly when they first got on Twitter. The restaurant name is "Han Dynasty", but when you hashtag it: #handynasty
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
Take a good long look at the word therapist. Unfortunate, isn’t it?
Trophy Husband 2 years ago
A buddy of mine worked for a hosting company. There was a place that sold used kids clothing... http://www.kidsexchange.com
RELATED:
#2
Finals
WoF Da Best 2 years ago
Gotta hold in the joke, gotta hold it in... don't say it, don't say ittttt
Design is full of detail-level concepts that matter more than their superficial simplicity would suggest, and kerning is a great example. When used effectively, it can be a powerful tool to influence aesthetics and communication through type.
It’s one of those things that, when used well, shouldn't be noticed by the average reader.
"If you start to look for it," designer Madeline DeCotes said, "you’ll realize there’s so much more to letters than you thought possible."
#3
Kookamunga 2 years ago
Attention Students: you are allowed not to take our to help trollies you move!
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Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
This is not so much a kerning failure but word organisation. It looks like they needed to use multiple sheets and tape them together, but didn't sketch out how the words should be arranged first. Compounded the error by just sticking the nonsense up on the board
Rahul Pawa 2 years ago
The order of the words is a much bigger issue here than the space between letters.
Chatty Panda 2 years ago (edited)
Attention Students You are not allowed to take our trollies to help you move
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#4
We Are Open
k1ddkanuck 2 years ago
Dollarama is great. It's pretty much the only game in town for dollar stores in Toronto and has pretty much everything.
#5
Kookamunga 2 years ago
This is the meat shenanigan.... meat-patio...e74136.jpg 
QuirkyKittyGirl 2 years ago
I have a t-shirt from this collection that says, "I'm only here for the shenanigans."
ОльхаКинг(AlderKing) 2 years ago
who wants to come with me and commit some meat shenanigans, i’ve got a raw turkey ready to go
Pieter LeGrande 2 years ago
Sounds like the burnt offerings I produced for dinner a few weeks ago.
Unlike tracking, which adjusts the amount of space between the letters of an entire word in equal increments, kerning focuses on how type looks — creating visually pleasing and readable text.
Typeface designers build spaces around each letter, and sometimes between pairs of letters. But as we can see in the pictures, those spaces don’t always work in all situations, especially if you’re using a typeface in a way the designer didn’t foresee.
That’s when manual kerning comes in. Because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, no two kerning jobs will be the same.
#6
Dishwasher
Monday 2 years ago
Tomorrow dish will be him. With a side serving of them.
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#7
If You Go Hiking In The Bamboo Forest, You Better Check For Ticks
#8
In Nails I Trust
AliJanx 2 years ago
Trusty Nail would be a good name for a Hardware Store or a pub. Or a Hardware Store with a pub in the back. Or a pub with a Hardware Store in the back. Or a vaccination site for tetanus shots.
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PlatinumTheCat 2 years ago
At first i read trusty nails, then I read rusty nails and was confused, and even after realizing it does say trusty I’m just as confused
#9
The Real Crime Is You Knew Darn Well What That Looked Like And Sent It To Print Anyway
"Kerning is a strikingly subjective art form," DeCotes explained.
"The designer needs to look at the space between each letter in a word and ask, 'Does this look like enough space? Does it look like too much? Are the letters too tight?'"
#10
François Carré 2 years ago
When you wonder how such a heinous smell can come from such a tiny body. "Damn, that kid is powerful".
faireymomma 2 years ago
My fiance has said the same of me and I'm far from childhood 🤷♀️
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#11
Apply At..???
Superb Owl 2 years ago
They are hiring both lice and nsed stylists without applications, but hair needs to apply.
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
Very unfortunate placement of "lice" and "hair" on the first window
Amanda Lynch 2 years ago
The caption on the pic is super dumb cuz the location to apply is literally just crossed out for privacy... But the rest of it is perfect
#12
Car Pets Are The Best Pets
#13
Monday 2 years ago
I'm more interested in why he has foot long yogurt hot dogs
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Omima mimi miki 2 years ago
I got weird imagery in my head again but this time i couldn't make sense of it and i'm back at the jizz fest image....ahhhhh i need to get off this page..haha
Bad kerning is so common that graphic designers even have a name for it: keming (which looks like kerning has itself suffered from bad kerning).
If there were hard and fast rules around kerning, every font would automatically generate perfectly kerned character pairs. But because kerning is in many ways a subjective pursuit, the only thing anyone can say with certainty is that kerning is bad if it renders something unreadable.
This leaves a lot of (or a little) space for interpretation.
#14
Good Job, Walmart. If You Could Just Schooch The "Gurt" A Little To The Left
Robert T 2 years ago
I was looking at this and thought somebody stole the 'H' and couldn't figure out why the 'G' had moved. Then I remembered.... Americans.
nbfresh 2 years ago
i didn't approve of that spelling. i like the right way better.
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#15
Wot & Who?
Kirsten Kerkhof 2 years ago
I honestly cannot figure this one out - and as a language teacher I am used to some next-level spelling mistakes. Help?
#16
Pudding Turkey!
SkyBlueandBlack 2 years ago
What're you looking at, you giant Yorkshire pork!
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Suby 2 years ago
Sounds like someone wanted to provide a substitute for the vegetarians at dinner, and failed miserably.
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Dean Galningle 2 years ago
"Pudding Turkey" is another great band name! Opening for Meat Shenanigans!
John Hannah 2 years ago
Hi it's a whole roast in a giant Yorkshire pudding and you can choose what roast meats you want
#17
I Love Le Cher (French Department) vs. I Love Lécher (To Lick)
Captain Kyra 2 years ago
So which is it? The French Department or a brave artist sharing intimate secrets?
Alexandru Bucur 2 years ago
I mean, they are French after all... And to make it even more on the nose, you could place a cat on the "R" before you take the picture (for the three people who know their French slang who are going to read this)
Lisa Reuss 2 years ago
If those are the two options ~ either “I Love the French Department” or “I Love to Lick” ~ why is this even a huge sign in a park?
Not every project requires kerning by hand, but there are some instances when it may be better off if you give special time and attention to this detail:
- Headlines. Document headlines—or any time you make a font a larger point size in your document—can change the way the font kerning looks. You may find that you need to adjust the kerning of a headline to make the characters appear to have the same space between them as they do at a smaller point.
- Large formats. Like headlines, large-format projects—think banners and billboards—can create kerning issues. This is because, at smaller point sizes, characters need more space between them to be legible. When that same font is blown up to billboard size, kerning that once made it easy to read now makes it look a little sloppy. This is the perfect time to kern by hand.
- Logos. Creating a logo that includes typography requires special consideration for kerning. Not only is it a matter of taste and preference, but you must consider the myriad sizes in which your logo may be printed.
#18
Shampoo
Stephanie Barr 2 years ago
One of my favorite Muppet routines. "I don't use SHAMpoo; I only use real poo. Only the best poo for my wigs."
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#19
W Hyy Yyyyy???
WoF Da Best 2 years ago
Pls tell me I'm not the only one who thought the bottom half of the bottle was chopped off
u sure it's thea? 2 years ago
If you replace the watermelon with an o it says wateormelon, if u say it right like waht-eeyo-melon it sounds like water your melon lol
#20
I Guess It's More Font Choice, But The High School That My Girlfriend Teaches At Is Fort White High School, But All I See Is Fart White In Their Gym
N Miller 2 years ago
I read "font white" and assumed they'd just printed the instructions instead
#21
Some Are Neon The Kerning Thing
k1ddkanuck 2 years ago
Is it weird that I thought the artist misspelled "underrated"?
Load More Replies... Not-a-Clue-What-to-Call-Myself 2 years ago
I hate these signs that split words. They are just awful
"If you’re not a designer, it’s not something you think about," DeCotes said. "People don’t realize anytime they see giant text, whether it’s on a poster, a billboard, or a website, headline fonts have probably been thoughtfully kerned.”
Assuming it's been executed well, of course!
#22
Nope I'll Get Mine Done Somewhere Else
John Hannah 2 years ago
It says 'alignment' but they had to split the word because of the window size
WoF Da Best 2 years ago
Ahhhh, that's why my stuff ain't straight (no jokes please) can't even al ign what THEY do.
#23
He Is Trisen
Suby 2 years ago
Has indicates one event in the past tense; is indicates a permanent state. Like "he has learned" is an event, but "he is learned" = a learned / educated person.
Load More Replies... David 2 years ago
I serve a trisen Savior He's in the world today. I know that He is tliving, Whatever men may tsay.
Leeza Martinez 2 years ago
I thought he was Jesus....but from now on I will tell my Tristen friends to worship Trisen instead
David 2 years ago
I think a Tristen would be someone who worships Trist. So tell them to enjoy a trist. lol
Load More Replies... ОльхаКинг(AlderKing) 2 years ago
now i need to make a friend named Trisen just to give this to them
#24
6nly Sod Gan Gugjmel
#25
It's Rush Because Go Time!
Rahul Pawa 2 years ago
Telemedicine advertisement? I can only assume the company is named "Rush".
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Laughing Orc 2 years ago
It's Orush because go time. Obvious when you think about it, really... 🤔😬
#26
Finally Found One In The Wild!
#27
Amazing Pizza. Atrocious Kerning
Daniel Atkins 2 years ago
Did this restaurant have a longer name and sell to new owners but the previous said please change the name so they just took letters out of it so they didn't have to buy new signage?
#28
Cool Craft Bar In Richmond
Jonny Man 2 years ago
It has that radical S that everyone used to draw in their notebooks back when I was a kid.
Load More Replies... zims 2 years ago
You can tell it's cool because they're using that thing all the cool kids drew when they were in high school, because nothing says cool like pop culture icons from 30 years ago. Cool.
Nikole 2 years ago (edited)
First, marry me! Second, I didn’t know this was a thing until like ten years ago, and that was only because of websites like this. Was it a suburban thing? Edit: graduated high school in 98
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#29
I Just Saw This In A Market In Georgia Today And Could Not Stop Laughing. You’re Welcome
Corinna S. 2 years ago
Pretty sure you did NOT find this in Georgia... It's French. Also the labels on the shelves are written in yet another language.
Ronald G. Kirchem 2 years ago
"shampooing" is the French word for "shampoo"--it is pronounced "shampwang"
Beruthiel45 2 years ago
It's soft and it's eggy or almondy, frequent usage, number one and two, or all types of horses - not really, chevaux versus cheveux, but it's still funny.😉
#30
Finally Found Something
#31
Please Don
#32
Found In The Wild At Our Local O'charley's
QuirkyKittyGirl 2 years ago
If they had left the spaces in, they would have had to adjust the kerning and page breaks just to be able to fit in the same space. (Possibly even the font size.)
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Henry Russell 2 years ago (edited)
welcome to class we have death stare darcie didnt sleep sara jealous judie not cool carl crazy eye elina totally a kid kylie and nervous nancie and her sidekick even nervous neil ( there scaring me)
Laughing Orc 2 years ago
I think they're Bitmoji? They're very similar if not
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Trophy Husband 2 years ago
Workingtogetherto empower studentsto become successful lif elong learners.
Terry Tobias 2 years ago
I'm sure they're assisting their students with this example of writing.
#33
A While Ago I Was An Extra On The Last Of Us, And I Had To Wait To Share This
zims 2 years ago
On the letter spacing fails list? It fits the prompt, it's just not funny.
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#34
Robert Beveridge 2 years ago
I'm reading "Yesweare" in Mr. Humphries' voice and it's quite satisfying
#35
Today I Learned That Automotive Professionals Are Not Typesetting Professionals
censorshipsucks 2 years ago
This happens when people are not sure if there is supposed to be an apostrophe before the S, so they leave a gap just in case, to please both sides of the argument.
#36
Love It!
Lana Lana Banana 2 years ago
M W .... It's the lack of slant, I think, that makes the two distinguishable, regardless of upsidedown or right side up.
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Anonymouse 2 years ago
If you read it the other way, it says "MO 75"... Don't ask me why I commented this.
Arturo De la Rosa 2 years ago
what happen was:guy forgot the w stencil and used the M stencil. then went: Finished the sign boss.
#37
Chips
Linus Bourque 2 years ago
It's french and english. It's a requirement of products sold in Canada. But the spacing/kernel is a little out of whack
Barbara Kelly 2 years ago
"croustilles" means "chips' in French. In Canada, packaging includes French and English languages.
#38
Saw In The Wild And Thought Of You All
Monday 2 years ago
No spaces between you are and my, but it's still legible so doesn't belong here.
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#39
Something I Hated Today
#40
The Closer You Look, The Worse It Gets
Majungasaurus 2 years ago
That’s how my mother used to describe me as a child
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#41
Saw This At A Local Park Today And Knew I Had To Snap A Pic To Share
#42
Wait... I'm Confused. Is The Food From China Or Togo?
Hellsbunnies TV 2 years ago
I kinda understand this one, although it looks strange. I used to have a greasy spoon cafe, on my road. It shut at 5pm and after that they rented it out to a Thai family, who sold Thai food. It's a clever way to reduce rent. That place would be packed in the evenings as it was low-priced, proper Thai, family food. Damn, I miss that place!
#43
It’s Not Like They Didn’t Have Enoughroom
QuirkyKittyGirl 2 years ago
Maybe his twin brother works on Fantasy Island. Tattoo. "De plane! De plane! Here come de plane, boss!"
#44
This Stresses Me Out. In The Living Room Of A Sober Living House. I Feel Like They Weren’t Very Sober When They Did This
#45
Received This At A Breast Cancer Survivors Dinner. Appreciate The Sentiment, But I Will Always See Adjust, Brethren!
#46
From One Of My Child’s Books From School. If Only Ben Jamin Franklin Would Have F Ound A Way To Improve This Keming
Nacho Man Sandy Ravage 2 years ago
Ben Jamin........I want Ben Jamin with you.........Ben Jamin.......Jamin.......And I hope you're Ben Jamin too
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
From what I’ve read about Ben Franklin, he was “jamin” back in the 18th century, so I have no doubt he would STILL be “jamin” if he was alive today.
Load More Replies... #47
Smell Ya Later, Smenu
#48
I Mean Come On
VonBlade 2 years ago
I bet it cost £50m and was paid to the chancellors brothers company.
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#49
Red Wyvern Emperor 2 years ago
Orks have taken over New York! Heresy! Ready up brother! Purge the filth! XD
#50
This Has Bothered Me For Years. And It's Not Just Decals - All Of Their Signs Are Like This, Too
#51
Church Of Bod Douth Balls
Dónal Ó Murchadha 2 years ago
It says "Church of God Youth Halls" and that H is capitalised. You can see the 4 ornate capitalised letter clearly.
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#52
Font Shaming And Spelling Issues? I Want This To Say *exploring* But It Just Doesn’t
Burnt Bagel 2 years ago
I’ve heard they do some crazy s**t up there in those northern cabins in the middle of winter😂
#53
Hahahahaha Forgive Me This Isn’t Strictly A Kerning Issue But It Made Me Laugh
#54
Home Ffice? Hom Effice?
#55
Axe Body Spray End Cap Display At Walmart
QuirkyKittyGirl 2 years ago
This is where you're only typing with two fingers, but sometimes you hold the key down while searching for the next letter.
A gay cat man 2 years ago
I read this as smeeeells finer than the fineeeeest fragrrrrrances lmao
#56
Somebody Hit The -1000 Button
#57
B A Ylea Ves Spotted At A Local Market
#58
Anniversary Dinner At The Tas T Ingroom
#59
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
Except for creating a coherent sentence on a bumper sticker, apparently.
QuirkyKittyGirl 2 years ago
Did they give one piece each to the neighborhood kids and tell them to go "put them on the corner of the car closest seat to th Ega rAg e?"
Chris D'Asta 2 years ago
Papyrus and, oddly enough, the font the band Lamb of God uses. The only good thing going for this shite lettering job.
#60
I Got This T-Shirt At A Conference And It Bothers Me To This Day
QuirkyKittyGirl 2 years ago
Sadly, a lot of programs won't let you adjust the kerning of just one letter, so you have to pick better fonts.
#61
F Jords
Robert T 2 years ago
In English, it means: a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea between high cliffs, as in Norway, typically formed by submergence of a glaciated valley.
Load More Replies... #62
Sinkist?
Chris D'Asta 2 years ago
Once you see it can never be unseen. Also, the arrow in the FedEx logo.
#63
"We Can't Make It Any Tighter!" "Do It Anyway!"
#64
The Spacing, The Backwards Letters Scattered Throughout. It’s All Just A Mess
Burnt Bagel 2 years ago (edited)
Apparently there is still time to fix it😂 (edit: my bad, typical American assuming it meant August and not April. God we are self centered!)
Silverslyph 2 years ago
Idk... I grew up in said country and still can't, for the life of me, figure out why we're using a long past dead dudes foot for a system of measurement.....
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#65
I Just Saw This Posted In A News Article - Better Kerning Might Have Left Space For The Whole Word To Fit. Image Of A School With "The School District Of Philadelph" In Shiny Block Letters
Robert T 2 years ago
You can even see that it would be centred over the windows, as the T overhangs to the left, and the 'i a' will overhang to the right.
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#66
Whotels
#67
I Hate The Way The Letter 'H' Looks, Too. Can't Stop Seeing A 'Ђ'
Dónal Ó Murchadha 2 years ago
Something about H pointing at the space after an F.... what did I miss?
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Rahul Pawa 2 years ago
So many of these are not kerning issues. Words out of order is not an example of bad kerning. Same for spelling errors or hard to read fonts. Really frustrating since the writer took the time to explain what kerning is, and then proceeded to give us a list that mostly has nothing to do with it.
Vira 2 years ago
I feel like that's most BP posts. The title and purpose are completely skewed by at least the third one down. I just try not to think about it, too much, and enjoy the funny posts. :/
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T5n 2 years ago (edited)
There is a hashtag for college sports team in Colorado (Thunderwolves) that is #Gothunderwolves. I know it is supposed to be “go thunderwolves” but it can also be read as “goth under wolves “ making it seem like twilight themed smut. It’s more of a phrasing error than a kerning error though.
Rahul Pawa 2 years ago
So many of these are not kerning issues. Words out of order is not an example of bad kerning. Same for spelling errors or hard to read fonts. Really frustrating since the writer took the time to explain what kerning is, and then proceeded to give us a list that mostly has nothing to do with it.
Vira 2 years ago
I feel like that's most BP posts. The title and purpose are completely skewed by at least the third one down. I just try not to think about it, too much, and enjoy the funny posts. :/
Load More Replies... T5n 2 years ago (edited)
There is a hashtag for college sports team in Colorado (Thunderwolves) that is #Gothunderwolves. I know it is supposed to be “go thunderwolves” but it can also be read as “goth under wolves “ making it seem like twilight themed smut. It’s more of a phrasing error than a kerning error though.
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