“A colleague of mine called it sacrilege,” a Foreign Service officer in Asia told the Washington Post. Another employee said they’re “anticipating an internal revolt.” Yet another reported that the internal discussions amongst employees “definitely took up, like, half the day” following the announcement.
Why is the U.S. State Department changing its default font?
Answer: For improved readability.
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The U.S. State Department reportedly caused quite the internal scandal this week when it announced a major change. The department ordered employees to begin transitioning from using Times New Roman to Calibri font for official communications. But not everyone is happy about it.
“A colleague of mine called it sacrilege,” a Foreign Service officer in Asia told the Washington Post. Another employee said they’re “anticipating an internal revolt.” Yet another reported that the internal discussions amongst employees “definitely took up, like, half the day” following the announcement.
So, why the change? According to a departmentwide cable from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the switch to a sans-serif font (one without the wings and feet on the ends of letters) will improve readability, specifically when text is being read on a smartphone or with assistive technologies like screen readers. The recommendation for the change initially came from the secretary’s office of diversity and inclusion.
“A colleague of mine called it sacrilege,” a Foreign Service officer in Asia told the Washington Post. Another employee said they’re “anticipating an internal revolt.” Yet another reported that the internal discussions amongst employees “definitely took up, like, half the day” following the announcement.
