The Times wanted to modernize its typography with a more readable and space-saving typeface. Morison designed a narrow, contrasted and sturdy typeface, suited to fast newspaper printing.
At a glance
Origin: Monotype, for The Times newspaper, London.
Designer: Stanley Morison, with Victor Lardent.
Date: 1932.
Evolution
Times New Roman became one of the most used typefaces in the world, notably thanks to its inclusion on personal computers. Ironically, The Times abandoned it as early as 1972.
Famous examples
It was the default typeface of Microsoft Word until 2007. The US State Department replaced it with Calibri in 2023, before returning to it at the end of 2025.
Current use
It remains very present in administrative, legal and academic documents.
Alternatives
Tinos, Georgia, Times Ten.
Great typefaces glossary
Akzidenz-Grotesk, Arial, Avenir, Baskerville, Bodoni, Caslon, Circular, Cooper Black, Didot, DIN, FF Meta, Franklin Gothic, Frutiger, Futura, Garamond, Georgia, Gill Sans, Gotham, Graphik, Helvetica, IBM Plex, Inter, Minion, Montserrat, Myriad, Neue Haas Grotesk, Optima, Poppins, Roboto, Sabon, SF Pro, Source Sans, Source Serif, Times New Roman, Univers, Verdana