Is Times New Roman Better Than Calibri for the State Department?

"The legibility of a typeface is mostly related to how quickly you can read an individual letter, said Ms. Beier. You could also call it the clarity of the letter shapes. Type designers have rules of thumb about increasing legibility, many of which have been backed up by studies. Times New Roman is a serif typeface, with small projections that mimic formal handwriting. Calibri is a sans serif, meaning without serifs. One study found that the presence or absence of serifs had no effect on word recognition."

"A higher x-height (the height of a lowercase x) and its relationship to ascending and descending letters like f and y can increase the perceived size of a font and its legibility. A lower crossbar on the e the most frequently used letter in English can prevent the top of the e from appearing to collapse at small sizes. More open apertures, the gaps in letters like c and s and e, can reduce the brain's tendency to close breaks in a nearly continuous shape."

The State Department changed its official font from Calibri back to Times New Roman, prompting strong interest among type designers. Typeface legibility is linked to how quickly individual letters can be read and the clarity of letter shapes. Serif and sans serif designs differ in features such as stroke contrast, projections, and overall letterform. Studies report that serif presence alone does not change word recognition. Other factors that influence perceived size and readability include x-height, crossbar position on e, open apertures around c and s, and stroke contrast differences between serif and sans serif fonts.

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