In a heartwarming throwback to the ridiculously low-risk debates of the Obama era, the State Department is making a very small wave by officially ditching the old flagship Times New Roman font from official communications. This will be succeeded by Calibri, currently the best-known font due to be officially retired in 2021.
Actually, there’s no fuss about this (let alone a fuss) If anyone cares enough to say anything about fonts, they’re probably tired of TNR by now, so their only complaint is ” What took you so long?” But it’s funny that it’s in the news at all.
The Washington Post learned of this change from a leaked cable sent by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The reason for the change is accessibility and readability. Sans-serif fonts (that is, without small bits at the edges of the characters) are considered by many to be easier to read at small sizes on digital devices, especially for visually impaired users. .
It’s not that simple, but it’s a laudable goal. Using more readable fonts is a good idea, but accessibility should be built into the process from the ground up, not as a top layer. Even so, small steps are important.
Interestingly, the State Department is taking the same steps that Microsoft did in 2007. At that time, Microsoft itself replaced Times New Roman with the then-new Calibri as the default font for documents. The reasons were largely the same. Serifs were easier to read and people weren’t printing them as much.
Times New Roman, top, Calibri.
But that was a long time ago, and Calibri is now disappearing for a variety of reasons, possibly due to the obnoxiously attenuated Terminator. It’s not like it’s going to be wiped from the earth, and “non-default” isn’t a death sentence, but given the circumstances, it’s definitely a bit odd to pick it as a “new” very official font.
It’s understandable that the federal government generally prefers products that have been proven over the years. I don’t expect much. While this based on the Gerrymander district might have been appropriate:
However, there is actually a font created for this purpose: Noto. A collaboration between foundry giant Monotype and Google is a completely free sans-serif font built from the ground up for all your language, symbol and regular typography needs. This is great for government applications that may need to print in multiple languages, but even more so for the broader Department of State. But perhaps they have reasons to prefer Microsoft’s defaults to Google’s relatively exotic typefaces. “Keep it simple, state.”
Design fluency isn’t really the federal government’s forte, but it does appear to be improving — I have to say it’s better than many state governments. Replacing it is a good move, even if it’s old and uncool, and perhaps accessibility isn’t just a component, it’s a part, a result, a trickle that precedes a flood of good and thoughtful design.
