A cheater’s (typographic) typeface!

Get up to 10% more text!

We've heard of ecological typography. Now it's the other way around. A typeface that takes up more space than it needs. If this idea is "ecologically" absurd, it is in its immorality that this typeface becomes interesting.

Let's get to the heart of the matter. We all know that writing a dissertation or thesis can be an ordeal when it comes to fitting into the official layout grid, and that the value of editorial work begins with measuring the number of pages. From then on, students have learned to "hack" the educational system by slightly enlarging margins, or forcing the inter-lettering of a text by a few millimeters.

With this in mind, the MSCHF agency has created a free font called "Times Newer Roman". This typeface is based on "Times New Roman", but its design has been reworked to take up around 10% more space. To the untrained eye, it's classic "Times New Roman". In fact, I challenge even the most discerning typography connoisseur to tell the difference!

It would take around 6,680 words to fill 15 pages in Times New Roman font size 12, but with Times Newer Roman, it would take just 5,833 words to do the same.

A cheating character?

Who could have imagined that a tool as modest and discreet as typography could one day be used to cheat! All the more so when we're talking about a labor typeface * whose etymology is directly derived from the notion of effort and work. In short, a labor typeface made for lazy, cheating people... the idea is almost suddenly poetic!

Far be it from us to "praise the wrong thing"! Except to promote Ollivier Pourriol's 2010 book of the same name.

A reading in which the philosopher reminds us that, when it comes to cheating, Plato posed the only valid moral question through the myth of Gyges' ring - a ring that renders the wearer invisible, allowing the wearer to conceal his crimes. When Gyges discovers this ring, he takes advantage of it to take the place of his king and marry the queen. The myth of Gyges is one of Plato's most famous. This story tells us that "those who practice justice act out of impotence to commit injustice" and that "if rule is a mark of civilization, cheating remains a mark of freedom".

Now that you've got the facts, it's up to you whether you want to cheat or not!
Please note that this article does not include a link to download this typeface!
We wouldn't want to be an accomplice to your cheating!

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* labor typeface :
There are two main categories of typeface. Titling typefaces and text typefaces, known as labor typefaces because they take much longer to compose. This name dates back to the era of movable lead typefaces...