Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s State Department font switch is a political signal dressed up as design rationale. At least that’s what Chenyang “Platy” Hsu argues. In her deep dive into the decision and with a detour into the history of certain fonts, Hsu says Times New Roman is a newspaper workhorse made for economy, not ceremony. And many U.S. institutions favor stronger serif families or purpose-built sans-serifs.

Hsu:

…the design and historical reasons cited in Rubio’s memo don’t hold up. The formality and authority of serif typefaces are largely socially constructed, and Times New Roman’s origin story and design constraints don’t express these qualities. If Times New Roman carries authority at all, it’s primarily borrowed from the authority of institutions that have adhered to it. If the sincere goal were to “return to tradition” by returning to a serif, there are many choices with deeper pedigree and more fitting gravitas.