Orchestra Mission Statements In The Worst Fonts Of All Time

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Joe Patti keeps sucking me in with his headlines and yesterday’s post was no exception: Probably The Only Time Comic Sans Is Appropriate In A Planning Document.

If I’m being honest, I didn’t even read the rest of the article because it made me wonder what actual orchestra mission statements look like in some of the worst fonts of all time.

And that’s all I needed to go down that rabbit hole. So without further ado…

Comic Sans: tried and true, hated by so many, loved by so few.
Papyrus. We’re looking at you James Cameron (he knows what he did).
Brush Script. Starting to feel queasy yet?
*urp* Curlz
Trajan. So stoic. It almost fits. I guess the joke’s on me?
It wouldn’t be a font hater party without serving up…Lobster.

And since there’s a good reason the adage what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander exists, here’s Adaptistration mission statement in a font guaranteed to offend the full range of sensibilities.

When exclamation points fail to convey the humanity, there’s Impact.

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

View all posts by Drew McManus | Website

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