Yes, Twitter Changed Its Font, And Users Reacted Pretty Much The Way You’d Expect

Spoiler alert: Twitter had jokes about it.

Twitter officially rolled out its proprietary, and appropriately named font “Chirp” this week, along with other design changes they claim will make their desktop and app “less cluttered,” including button and color changes.

Via Twitter | Made using TweetPik

Twitter first introduced the Chirp font back in January but at the time didn’t mention whether it had plans to replace the SF Pro, Roboto, and Helvetica Neue fonts users have come to know.

 

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.

Our key objective with this brand refresh is to improve how we convey emotion and imperfection. Regardless of whether you’re pro or anti Helvetica, I think we can all agree that it’s not up for the job.
Via Twitter | Made using TweetPik

Skip ahead to this week, when users suddenly felt like something was different, but they couldn’t quite put their fingers on it.

The official Twitter account itself joked:

Via Twitter | Made using TweetPik
Via Twitter | Made using TweetPik

But as is the way of the Internet, anytime a popular app updates literally anything, whether it’s a good update or a bad update, users complain and/or make memes. For example…

A complaint:

tweet font chirp headaches PLEASE let us change the font back. It's incredibly difficult for me to read with, and it physically hurts to look at it.
Via Twitter | Made using TweetPik

A meme:

via Twitter | Made using TweetPik

A complaint (kind of?):

via Twitter | Made using TweetPik

A meme:

via Twitter | Made using TweetPik

A (funny) complaint:

via Twitter | Made using TweetPik

A meme-y complaint:

via Twitter | Made using TweetPik

You get the picture.

I personally welcome the new font, if for no other reason than it separates old Twitter screenshots being posted to Instagram from newer Tweet screenshots being posted it Instagram.

AKA, I know when I’m seeing a fresh meme vs. when I’m seeing something old, and therefore something I should send to all my friends because they’re just going to say…

 

Oh, and for the record, this font is only available on Twitter, though it is possible to download Chrip or make memes using the new typeface on apps like TweetPik (ahem, where we make all our memes anyway).

Complaints notwithstanding, I’m thinking Chirp is here to stay.

h/t TweetPik — A Twitter Video And Image Downloader that makes turning Tweets into memes simple and automatic.




Nathan Davidson

A master of the internet farts and sciences. Often accused of being into movies, television, sports, gaming and long walks to the kitchen. Spent the last decade writing about the absurdity that is the internet with a primary focus on comedy, sports, entertainment and exposing cats for being evil monsters. Somehow achieved a BA in Advertising from the Michigan State University and MA in Copywriting from The Portfolio Center. Hobbies include keeping “that’s what she said” jokes fashionable, imitating noises like a parakeet and preventing political arguments. List writer for Ranker and former Editor-in-Chief of World Wide Interweb.