edited by: Pritha Mallick
Last Update: January 18, 2023, 23:26 IST
Calibri, a digital sans-serif typeface, was the default font for Microsoft since 2007 as it replaced Times New Roman. (Image: Microsoft)
The US State Department orders home offices and bureaus, posted abroad, to adopt Calibri as the standard font in support of making the Department more ‘accessible’ on 6 February.
The US State Department on Wednesday announced the phasing out of the ‘Times New Roman’ font in all official communication in favor of ‘Calibri’, citing issues related to “persons with disabilities”.
In a statement released by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, department employees were informed of the change with the subject line “The Times (New Roman) Are A-Changing”, according to a tweet by The Washington Post reporter John Hudson. Was.
Big news for font freaks: Times New Roman is being phased out at the State Department and replaced by Calibri. Secretary Blinken sent a cable today to all embassies instructing staff not to send them any more papers with Times New Roman. Subject: “The Times (New Roman) are a-changing” pic.twitter.com/HENLbRH3UQ— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) January 17, 2023
“Secretary Blinken has directed the Department to adopt a sans serif font Calibri in 14-point font for all papers submitted to the Executive Secretariat,” the statement said.
Calling for the popular font to be phased out from February 6, it orders “the standard font for all requested paper in support of making the Department more accessible to domestic offices and bureaus, as well as posts located overseas.” Calibri should be adopted as such.”
Hudson further stated that the change was not because of aesthetics but because of issues for persons with disabilities. “Apparently the change was made because fonts with serifs create “issues for persons with disabilities,” according to cables I received,” he said.
New Serif in Town
Calibri, a digital sans-serif typeface, which has been the default font for Microsoft since 2007 as it replaced Times New Roman, is set to be changed to Microsoft Office as of 2021.
In 2021, Microsoft introduced five original, custom fonts to replace Calibri as the default: Tenorite, Bierstadt, Skeena, Seaford, and Grandview.
Announcing the decision in 2021, Microsoft had explained: “A default font is often our first impression; It is the visual identity we present to other people through our resumes, documents or emails. And as people and the world around us age and mature, so should our ways of expression.”
The recent US State Department decision is a major change after 20 years and goes back to its big jump from serif typefaces to sans serif, a change that began in 2004 when Times New Roman 14 was the “new” font on the scene. emerged as Courier New 12 instead.
According to an Entrepreneur report, the popularity of serif fonts is also linked to accessibility issues for people with disabilities who use optical character recognition technology or screen readers.
According to The Wired, Calibri’s designer, Lucas de Groot, created Calibri in the early 2000s as part of a collection of fonts for enhanced screen reading.
After Microsoft launched its ClearType technology in the 2000s, which optimized the resolution on LCD screens, fonts such as Calibri made text easier to read.
What about Times New Roman?
According to the New York Public Library, Times New Roman was created in 1932 by British typographer Stanley Morrison for the Times of London.
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