When Times New Roman appears in a book, document, or advertisement, it connotes apathy. It says, “I submitted to the typeface of least resistance.” Times New Roman isn’t a typeface choice so much as the absence of a typeface choice, like the blackness of deep space isn’t a color. To look at Times New Roman is to gaze into the void.

In the early era of digitalization, choosing Times New Roman was often less a deliberate endorsement than a default imposed by limited options.