If you have a keen eye, then you’ve probably realized a change in Twitter’s user interface design. If not, then it’s fine. It’s the purpose of this article anyway.
In the early hours of August 12, 2021 (PH time, of course), Twitter confirmed on their official account that they had changed the way their platform looks—font-wise. The Verge later reported about the change soon after.
https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/1425505690634780673?s=20
This noticeable change in font called Chirp, along with higher contrast colors, had already been revealed as part of Twitter’s brand refresh back in January. In a blog post, Twitter explained that they had wanted a creative design that was “intentionally imperfect” and grounded all of their pursuits in their “iconic logo, Twitter blue, AND Tweets”.
Twitter also described their new font this way, “Chirp strikes the balance between messy and sharp to amplify the fun and irreverence of a Tweet, but can also carry the weight of seriousness when needed”.
Twitter’s Creative Director for their Global Brand, Derrit DeRouen, first expressed his desire for the social media platform to have its own typeface back in January 28, 2021 and gave an in-depth explanation to it through a Twitter thread. DeRouen even wrote that for it [Chirp] to be used every day, it had to be “sharp and legible (with good density), but with personality and distinctiveness”.
Very much like Twitter, don’t you think?
I want to give a bit more depth to Chirp, our new typeface.
Type, in 280 character doses, is the foundation of Twitter. In the history of the company we’ve either relied on someone else’s typeface, from SF Pro and Roboto, to Helvetica Neue in our brand. pic.twitter.com/OrvlYsxF9g
— Derrit DeRouen (@DerritDeRouen) January 27, 2021
Development was no easy task as it had to cover a lot of ground for us. For everyday use it must be sharp and legible (with good density), but with personality and distinctiveness.
— Derrit DeRouen (@DerritDeRouen) January 27, 2021
Twitter’s official Design account also tweeted about the changes being rolled out, saying that while it may look weird at first, it’s just them becoming a more accessible, unique, and user-focused brand. (Yup, they also changed the colors of the Follow button, in case you noticed that too).
https://twitter.com/TwitterDesign/status/1425505308563099650?s=20
Did you notice any of these changes? Here’s what Twitter locals have to say about the new font:
please change it back i had it for 30 minutes and my head hurts i can't look at it
— ivy dw spoilers (@jaguarsglyph) August 11, 2021
https://twitter.com/AtFruitBat/status/1425506162770911244?s=20
https://twitter.com/shinebrighter93/status/1425519044376080385?s=20
WHO AT TWITTER HEADQUARTERS THOUGHT TAKING CALIBRI AND JUST RENAMING IT CHIRP TO USE AS THE NEW FONT WAS A GOOD IDEA CHANGE IT BACK pic.twitter.com/qYX7KEObpS
— 🪷 NANA (@nancwithluv) August 12, 2021
Old Twitter font (Segoe UI) vs new Twitter font (Chirp) pic.twitter.com/abVR4gdCbF
— Tempo (@Tempo_Storm) August 11, 2021
twitter calling their new font 'chirp' is cute af idc. ✨
— DystopicHippy ✍🏾 (@DystopicHippy) August 11, 2021
Well, while it might have given headaches to some users, personally, I think it’s cute. It might need a little more time to get used to!
It also seems like not everyone got the change yet, so just wait a little bit longer to get it!
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