I made an explainer video about why you should stop using Times New Roman and which font you should use instead (based on your needs).
What did you think? This is the first time I’ve made a video like this, so all feedback is appreciated. A voiceover artist I am not :) So if you have any specific voice acting tips for me, please share those too. Thanks!
Where did this come from?
You know how they say, “if you can’t find what you want to read, you should write it yourself”? Well I’m now applying that to explainer videos too :)
Designer Oliver Schöndorfer from Pimp my Type is the only person I know who creates videos like this one. They’re excellent and you should watch those on his YouTube channel. He also does weekly ‘Font Friday’ reviews on his mailing list.
But most of the other online discussions about typography are in blog posts, forum threads, or webpages – like these alternative-to resources on Typewolf and Practical Typography.
I myself wrote a couple of blog posts about recommended alternatives to Times New Roman a few months ago (original, follow-up).
The videos that people have produced about fonts are either from a graphic designer’s perspective or they’re one-offs – like ‘The controversial story of Times New Roman’ by The Middle-Aged Hack.
But since I’ve never seen anyone do an explainer video of this type before, I figured I might as well make one my own.
And since I had so much fun creating this video, I’ll think I’ll create a bunch more. Maybe one every couple of months? *crosses fingers*
Let me know if there’s any font you want me to talk about, by the way. I love researching and getting into the nitty gritty of typography, and I’m more than happy to take requests :)
Video transcript
Links and references, in order of appearance
Font downloads and purchases
Times New Roman, MyFonts (free on Windows, macOS; AU$205 otherwise)
Times New Roman Pro, MyFonts (AU$537)
Overpass, Google Fonts (free) — used for the ‘STOP’ sign in the video
URW DIN, MyFonts (AU$636) — URW DIN Compressed used for all the titles and captions in the video
PT Astra Serif, Paratype (free)
Newsreader, Production Type (free)
Newsreader, Google Fonts (free)
Equity, MB Type (US$119)
Modern Extended (aka Monotype Series 7), MyFonts (AU$78) — the typeface replaced by Times New Roman in The Times newspaper in 1932
Mercury, Hoefler&Co (US$199-499)
Nimbus Roman No. 9 L, Font Squirrel (free)
Linux Libertine, Font Squirrel (free)
Linux Biolinum, Font Squirrel (free)
Linux Libertine G and Linux Biolinum G, Numbertext (free; included in LibreOffice)
STIX Two Text, stixfonts (free)
Tinos, Google Fonts (free)
Arimo, Google Fonts (free)
Cousine, Google Fonts (free)
Spectral, Google Fonts (free)
Tiempos Text + Display, Klim Type Foundry (US$624; test fonts free)
Galaxie Copernicus, Labor and Wait (US$375)
Plantin, MyFonts (AU$316)
Editorial New, Pangram Pangram (US$400; test fonts free)
Untitled Serif, Klim Type Foundry (US$234; test fonts free)
Untitled Sans, Klim Type Foundry (US$300; test fonts free)
Writer, Pangram Pangram (US$600; test fonts free)
Source Serif 4, Google Fonts (free)
Source Sans 3, Google Fonts (free)
Whitney, Hoefler&Co (US$199-499) — also used for the headings in the video script PDF (along with Mercury, which is used for the body text)
TT Jenevers, TypeType (US$165)
Stempel Garamond, MyFonts (US$158)
Calisto MT, MyFonts (free on Windows; AU$240)
Palatino Linotype, MyFonts (free on Windows, macOS; AU$632)
Palatino Nova, MyFonts (AU$380)
Photos and screenshots
The Times front page, 21 Jan 1936 scan, News UK Archives on X
Woman in a headscarf looking at a tablet photo, Francis Odeyemi on Unsplash
A person pressing a button on a printer photo, Stanislav Staritsyn on Unsplash
Stanley Morrison photo, Mary Evans Picture Library
Victor Lardent photo, Annie Morris (Victor Larden’s great niece) on X
The Times front page, 11 Jan 1947 scan, Sandid on Pixabay
Times New Roman vs Modern Extended photo, ‘Where Did Times New Roman Come From?’ by , Meredith Mann, 9 Dec 2014, New York Public Library, retrieved 7 Sep 2024
King George V obituary in The Times, 21 Jan 1936 scan, News UK Archive on X
Queen Eliabeth II obituary in The Times, 8 Sep 2022 screenshot, The Times website, retrieved 9 Sep 2024
The Times front page, 21 Jan 1936 scan, News UK Archive on X
The Times home page, 21 Sep 2024 screenshot, The Times website, retrieved 21 Sep 2024
The Times office in London, 1924 photo, News UK Archives on X
Windows 11 default fonts screenshot, Microsoft Learn, retrieved 7 Sep 2024
macOS Sonoma default fonts screenshot, Apple Support, retrieved 7 Sep 2024
Linux Mint fonts screenshot, personal Linux Mint install, taken 7 Sep 2024
Astra Linux logo and image, RusBITTech, retrieved 8 Sep 2024
Equity font PDF specimen screenshot, Practical Typography, retrieved 8 Sep 2024
STIX Two Text screenshot, stixfonts, retrieved 8 Sep 2024
Tinos screenshot, Google Fonts, retrieved 13 Sep 2024
Arimo screenshot, Google Fonts, retrieved 13 Sep 2024
Cousine screenshot, Google Fonts, retrieved 13 Sep 2024
Matthew Butterick’s alternatives screenshot, Practical Typography, retrieved 13 Sep 2024
Jeremiah Shoaf’s alternatives screenshot, Typewolf, retrieved 13 Sep 2024
Studio Ground Floor’s alternatives screenshot, Pangram Pangram blog, retrieved 13 Sep 2024
Calisto MT font article, Wikipedia, retrieved 13 Sep 2024
Palatino Linotype font article, Wikipedia, retrieved 13 Sep 2024
John Jacob Astor V, Chairman of The Times, prints the first newspapers set in Times New Roman photo, ‘Where Did Times New Roman Come From?’ by Meredith Mann, 9 Dec 2014, New York Public Library, retrieved 7 Sep 2024
Toshi Omagari’s 8 most-used typefaces screenshot, page 26-7, ‘8 Faces: Collected’ by Elliot Jay Stocks, 2018, Margin Media
Jesse Nyberg video screenshot, ‘Essential Font List for Graphic Designers’ by Jesse Nyberg, 27 Jul 2022, YouTube
Robert Slimbach’s 8 most-used typefaces screenshot, page 458-9, ‘8 Faces: Collected’ by Elliot Jay Stocks, 2018, Margin Media
Text and articles
Times New Roman (article text used throughout), Wikipedia, retrieved 25 Aug 2024
‘Where Did Times New Roman Come From?’ by Meredith Mann, 9 Dec 2014, New York Public Library, retrieved 7 Sep 2024
Garamond article, Wikipedia, retrieved 8 Sep 2024
Baskerville article, Wikipedia, retrieved 8 Sep 2024
Bookman Old Style, Wikipedia, retrieved 8 Sep 2024
Nimbus Roman No. 9 L, Wikipedia, retrieved 8 Sep 2024
Linux Libertine, Wikipedia, retrieved 8 Sep 2024
Croscore fonts, Wikipedia, retrieved 13 Sep 2024
‘Times New Roman alternatives’, Practical Typography, retrieved 13 Sep 2024
‘Top 10 Times New Roman Alternatives (Transitional Serifs), Typewolf, retrieved 13 Sep 2024
‘Palatino alternatives’, Practical Typography, retrieved 17 Sep 2024
Palatino, Wikipedia, retrieved 17 Sep 2024
Other resources
‘The Times in New Type’ article, 3 October 1932 photo, The London Library on X
‘Times New Roman alternatives’ blog post, Ameel Khan
‘Times New Roman alternatives – follow-up’ blog post, Ameel Khan
‘Font recommendations’ article, Practical Typography
‘System fonts’ article, Practical Typography
‘When fonts fight, Times New Roman conquers’ article by Alison Flood, 29 Jan 2020, The Guardian