Graphic designers take note – the use of the Calibri font is another example of “wasteful” diversity, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio yesterday ordered diplomats to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications and abandon the woke new font that was introduced in official communications by his predecessor in office Antony Blinken, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters.
US diplomats under Blinken had switched to Calibri, a modern sans-serif font, in early January 2023, on the basis that it was a more accessible font for people with disabilities because it did not have the “decorative angular features” of Times New Roman. It gained further bonus points as it was the default in Microsoft products, or at least it did until now.
A cable dated December 9 sent to all U.S. diplomatic posts said that typography shapes the professionalism of an official document and Calibri is “informal” compared to serif typefaces:
“To restore decorum and professionalism to the Department’s written work products and abolish yet another wasteful DEIA program, the Department is returning to Times New Roman as its standard typeface,” the cable reportedly said.
“This formatting standard aligns with the President’s One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations directive, underscoring the Department’s responsibility to present a unified, professional voice in all communications,” it added.
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Some studies suggest that sans-serif fonts, such as Calibri, are easier to read for those with certain visual disabilities.
The new font purge is the latest in an ongoing war on “DEI” since Republican president Donald Trump returned to office in January. The president and his team have been judiciously eradicating federal DEI programs, as well as proactively discouraging them in the private sector and education, including by directing the firing of diversity officers at federal agencies and pulling grant funding for a wide range of programs that do not drop DEI initiatives.
Trump and other critics of diversity argue that they are discriminatory against white people and males, and have eroded merit-based decision making.
Image courtesy Embassy of the United States of America to Italy.
