Typeface: Times New Roman

When Microsoft released Windows 3.1 in 1992, it included three typefaces for writing texts: Arial, Times New Roman and Courier New. I'll discuss Courier New in my next post. For now I'll concentrate on the differences between Arial and Times New Roman.

Arial is a relatively new typeface, created for the company Monotype Inc in 1982, but Times New Roman is an older typeface, created for Monotype Inc in 1932. It was designed to be used as the standard typeface for the Times newspaper, but for decades it was the most popular typeface for printed books.

If you compare this character table with Arial, you'll immediately see a difference. There are little strokes on the ends and the corners of most letters, most visible in the capital letters. These small strokes are called serifs.

Arial's capital H, on the left, looks like a goal post. Times New Roman's capital H has beautifully rounded serifs, which give it an artistic quality.

The letter E shows that the serifs don't have to be horizontal; they can also be vertical or diagonal. Note the lack of symmetry in Times New Roman's E. Other typefaces may be symmetrical, but Times New Roman isn't. The strokes on the left show that serifs can also be present on corners, not just on the ends of letters.

The letter C shows that serifs don't have to be used on every end of a letter. It's up to the typeface designer. In this case there's a serif at the top, but not at the bottom.

Fonts that use serifs are called serif fonts, while fonts without serifs are called sans serif fonts. It's possible for one typeface to contain both serif and sans serif fonts, although that's a matter of definition. Some people would insist that the serif and the sans serif fonts belong to different typefaces.

Books are almost always printed with serif fonts. Psychologists will explain to you that the use of serifs makes text easier to read. Personally, I'm not sure about that. I can read text with serifs easier, but it might just be because it's what I'm used to. On computer screens sans serif fonts are used more often, because the serifs tend to disappear on small screens. This is what's led to the popularity of Arial, even though Times New Roman is a more attractive typeface.

Also note in the case of all three letters that the Arial version has a standard width to the strokes of the characters, whereas the Times New Roman has varied width between the strokes. This imitates the varying thickness of the strokes when writing with an ink pen with a thick nib. Most but not all serif typefaces adhere to this.

Italic sans serif fonts like Arial are usually just tilted versions of the standard fonts. Italic serif fonts are completely new designs. Compare the two tables for yourself, but I'll point out a few examples.

Serifs that are straight in the regular font often become curved in the italic font. The lower case X is a good example. The upper right and lower left serifs have changed from horizontal serifs to rounded bulbs. The lower right serif has changed from a horizontal serif to a diagonal flourish. The upper left serif is still straight, but it's been tilted.

Two letters are special cases in serif typefaces. The lower case A completely changes form in the italic font.

The lower case F stands on the base line in the regular font, but it has a tail that descends below the base line in the italic font. The changes in these two letters are typical for almost every serif font.

Bold sans serif fonts are usually just consistently thickened in comparison to the regular font, whereas the bold fonts of serif typefaces are often redesigned. You can search for the minor details for yourself, but I'll point out a few examples.

As you can see in the case of the capital A, not all strokes in the letter have been thickened. The thick stroke on the right has been approximately doubled in width, but the thin strokes have been left unchanged.

The capital F shows that even the serifs can be thicker in the bold fonts. The centre serif is thicker, which is emphasised by the centre stem being shortened. If you look carefully you'll see that the top right serif of the regular font is slightly tilted, but in the bold font it's perfectly vertical.

In the bold font the capital G's lower right stem is shortened and thickened. The upper right serif has also been changed from slightly tilted to perfectly vertical.

Is Times New Roman's bold italic font a bold version of the italic font or an italic version of the bold font? If a font is well designed, the answer is both. Compare the four versions of the capital K.

Look at the subtleties in the redesigns of the bold characters. Only the bold font has a connecting stem in the middle. The bold italic font compresses the K by making the leg a steeper angle. The letters are all beautiful, aren't they?

If you're someone who's studied typography, my explanations probably sound trivial to you. I try to avoid technical terms wherever possible. This post is written for people who until now have taken the letters on their computer screen and in their books for granted. I want to instil in you a love for letters as art.