It all started when Stanley Morison complained.
What made it worse was that he wasn’t complaining to just anyone – he was complaining to London’s esteemed The Times newspaper.
His complaint was that their newspaper was not as easy to read as it should be because of the typeface that they used. The paper huffily replied that if Stanley didn’t like it then he should create something better.
Stanley decided to take on the challenge. Enlisting the help of expert draftsman Victor Lardent, the two began working on a typeface that would emphasize efficiency and readability.
In 1926, The Times tested their new typeface that Stanley and Victor created. They found it to in fact be superior and so began to use it. They gave the new typeface a name: The Times New Roman. That name was later shortened to Times New Roman.
If you typed something on your computer today, there is a very good chance that you typed it in Times New Roman, as it remains the default choice for most computer programs.
Stanley is a reminder to us that we should not stop with our complaint. We all have plenty to complain about in our lives. Step beyond that and work to be more than a complainer – be part of the solution.