Although Times New Roman is one of the most popular fonts in the world, plenty of users can't stand it. How did it come to this?
First introduced in 1931 in the British newspaper The Times, the Times typeface, a sprawling "font family," replaced its outdated predecessor and quickly spread around the world. The best-known members of this family are Times and Times New Roman.
The font has shipped with every version of Windows since 3.1 and was once the default font in many apps, including Microsoft Word. Times New Roman was widely accepted in classrooms and offices, and in 2004 it even became the official font for all US government diplomatic documents.
But times change, and no king reigns forever.
Times New Roman abdicates
Replacing Times New Roman at the US State Department sparked plenty of controversy.
In early 2023, the US State Department officially announced that it would replace Times New Roman with Calibri for all documents. According to an internal memo, the goal of the change was to make text easier for staff to read on screen.
The decision drew mixed reactions, however. US government employees were deeply accustomed to Times New Roman and were unhappy with the change. Many even joked that it was "blasphemy" and predicted that sooner or later someone would rise up to bring Times New Roman back.
The switch from Times New Roman to Calibri was not a revolution but a change made for good reason. Designers have come to see the classic style of Times New Roman, with its elaborate decorative strokes, as outdated in a modern context.
Many brands have replaced Times New Roman in their logos with more modern fonts like Helvetica to achieve a cleaner look.
The main reason the US State Department chose Calibri, however, was readability. With information displayed mostly on screens, a font's legibility matters more than ever. The intricate strokes of Times New Roman can make it harder for people to read on electronic displays.
But why would anyone hate a font?
The truth is, no matter which font you replace "Times New Roman" with, you will still find a community that passionately hates it. In fact, the history of typography enthusiasts is littered with despised fonts.
In the age of the internet, people who dislike certain fonts have found kindred spirits and formed communities to voice their shared disdain. Online, there are communities campaigning to get rid of Papyrus, groups that hate Comic Sans, and people who utterly loathe the "basic" Arial.
Every community has its own tastes, and hating a font is no exception. According to Allan Haley, Director of Words and Letters at Monotype Imaging and an expert in type design, there are four main reasons a font gets hated.
First, a font can be overused, making it tiresome and off-putting. Second, a font can be a copy of another font, lacking originality and creativity. Third, the font's quality can be poor, making it hard to read and use. Finally, some fonts are simply too "obnoxious" because of a bizarre or unattractive design.
The debate over fonts and type design seems like it will never end, especially as trends shift unpredictably. In the State Department's internal memo, the author noted that Calibri was chosen for future documents because Microsoft had made it the default font.
In 2021, however, Microsoft announced that it would soon replace Calibri. After 17 years of ruling Office apps, Calibri gave way to Aptos, the new default font in Microsoft's content creation software.
Microsoft said Calibri had been the default font across all of its products since 2007, when it replaced Times New Roman throughout the Microsoft Office suite. "It has served us well, but we believe it's time to evolve."
There is no real need to analyze why a font is hated, mocked or falls out of favor. As one famous designer once put it, "A great font is one you recognize before you even read the word." That holds true for both beloved and despised fonts.
Sometimes, loving or hating a font simply comes down to whether it feels charming or grating.
