A typeface is now a DEI program.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has banned Calibri from the State Department, calling it too woke. In its place: Times New Roman, in the name of »tradition« and »professionalism«. The memo’s title? »Return to Tradition«.

But here's what’s being overlooked: The State Department’s official corporate typeface isn’t Times New Roman. It’s Bodoni – established for decades in the Foreign Affairs Manual as »appropriate to the Department's dignity«.

And that’s where it gets interesting. Bodoni and Times New Roman are both serif typefaces, both steeped in history. But typographically, they’re opposites.

Bodoni emerged from late 18th-century Parma, designed by Giambattista Bodoni at the ducal court. Vertical axis, extreme stroke contrast, hairline serifs – a typeface built for elegance and authority. Massimo Vignelli called it »one of the most elegant typefaces ever designed«.

Times New Roman, by contrast, is pure British newspaper pragmatism. Designed in 1931 by Stanley Morison and Victor Lardent for The Times of London, it was built for speed and economy – compact, space-saving, optimized for fast typesetting under deadline pressure. Not for dignity.

Put them together, and they don’t harmonize. They stumble. Parma meets Fleet Street. State banquet meets cafeteria tray. A national anthem with keyboard accompaniment.

This typographic dissonance isn’t new. It’s existed since 2004, when Times New Roman became the department’s standard document font. Rubio's decision doesn’t resolve it – it deepens it, while declaring the result »professional«.

Calibri entered the picture in 2023, introduced on the recommendation of the Diversity & Inclusion Office to improve screen readability and accessibility. Lucas de Groot, the typeface's Dutch designer, was interviewed by CNN about Rubio’s reversal. His response: »I think it's hilarious and also a bit of a sad decision«.

Asked what exactly makes his typeface »woke«, de Groot chuckled: »I have no idea«. Type choice is never just aesthetics. It’s system, consistency, identity. Demand professionalism while ignoring your own corporate design, and you deliver the opposite.

Woke defeated. Typography botched. At least there’s attitude.