US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed the State Department to reinstate the use of Times New Roman typeface for official purposes, halting the use of Calibri, thereby reversing a change made under the Biden administration. The Internet reacted to the news with hilarity and satire, with most joking that it was indeed the “pressing national issue” that needed to be resolved.
In 2023, Antony Blinken adopted Calibri, stating that the font type was more accessible for people with visual disabilities, according to the BBC. However, in a recent announcement, Rubio said that Times New Roman was “more formal”.
This new rule will apply to both external and internal documents. The creator of the Calibri typeface, Dutch designer Lucas de Groot, told the outlet that this change was “sad” and “hilarious”.
“Calibri was designed to facilitate reading on modern computer screens – it was chosen to replace TNR – the typeface that Rubio wants to go back to now,” said De Groot.
How did social media react?
Mocking the change, a social media user posted, “Always working on top priorities.” Another joined, “Marco is dealing with the truly pressing issues of our time!”
A third commented, “Screen readability – San-serif fonts like Calibri are easier to read on a screen than serif fonts like Times New Roman.” A fourth wrote, “Oh, because that is something that really needs attention at the moment. Times New Roman.”
Why the change?
A spokesperson told the outlet, “Aligning the (state) department’s practice with this standard ensures our communications reflect the same dignity, consistency, and formality expected in official government correspondence.”
Times New Roman vs Calibri: What are they?
Times New Roman is a serif font which first appeared in The Times of London newspaper in 1932. It was commissioned by and designed for the newspaper. It became one of the world’s most successful type creations.
Calibri is a sans-serif font and an extremely readable typeface. It is usable in almost any situation and was first published in 2007 as one of the typefaces in the Microsoft ClearType font collection.