The most prominent change that people have noticed has to do with the font. Twitter has started using a new font that it is calling Chirp, and it is justifying the use of this font by saying that it will improve readability. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that quite a few users are complaining that the exact opposite is true. Many users are actually reporting that they have gotten a headache from reading the new font, and Twitter Design, the company’s official design based account, got quite a negative ratio with over 7,000 quote RTs as opposed to just 3,000 regular RTs.
Same. I can't believe they claimed this would be easier to read because it is definitely much harder to read
— Tango (@tangozlulu) August 11, 2021
It looks like the letters are doing the wave, I hate it.
— Rigtoofen (@Rigtoofen) August 11, 2021
yo it sucks. this font looks unfinished. hope you didn't pay them for a job well done cuz this aint even satisfactory. Not even close. I feel like i'm playing a retro video game from late 80's era. this isn't "easier" to read. who was your test focus group for this anyways???
— Birdthulu (@Kaddiss_Telelia) August 11, 2021
Read tweets with twitter's new font and get a headache. Then maybe you'll close your eyes out of frustration and eventually fall asleep 🥲
— mnemosyne (@cd_mnemosyne) August 11, 2021
This is not the only thing that people are taking issue with. Previously, when you followed someone the color of the button went from white or grey (depending on whether or not you were using dark mode) to blue. Now, though, it is blue when you are not following someone and it turns white when you follow them, basically becoming the complete opposite of what used to be the case.
While this is not causing anyone any literal headaches, it is causing plenty of metaphorical ones with all things having been considered and taken into account. Plenty of people have found their follower numbers dropping with many followers becoming confused by the change and thinking that the white follow button means that they are somehow no longer following someone, and when they click on it they end up unfollowing them by accident.
i dont care about the font but the follow button changing to filled in when you aren't following is very confusing. why
— Bec Shaw (@Brocklesnitch) August 12, 2021
The follow and unfollow button states should be reversed and you cannot change my mind pic.twitter.com/LhnIbmmxoP
— Kelly Vaughn 🐞 (@kvlly) August 12, 2021
just did my first "wait, i don't follow them?" *click* "damnit, the button changed colors" *click again* so everyone just ignore all follow-related notifications today
— Olivia Messer 🌊 (@OliviaMesser) August 12, 2021
Say what you want about the new Twitter font but switching around the Follow/Following button so it's now highlighted if you're NOT following is putrid. pic.twitter.com/evXLkDaaAH
— Bloops (@Bloops_) August 11, 2021
This is something that happens when people are used to a specific type of color scheme. Twitter’s attempts to make its platform more accessible through the use of the typeface are admirable, but they should not come at the expense of usability. Only time will tell whether or not the changes will pan out the way Twitter is expecting them to.
Whatever the case may be, the changes are enormously unpopular at the moment and it appears that Twitter has actually decreased overall readability rather than improving it. There is already a Chrome extension that allows users to switch back to the old Twitter design, so if Twitter doesn’t switch back people might just take matters into their own hands.
Update: Twitter has taken the feedback of its users seriously, the micro-blogging network tweeted that it is "making contrast changes on all buttons to make them easier on the eyes", plus, Twitter 's Accessibility team also explained in a tweet that they've "identified issues with the Chirp font for Windows users and are actively working on a fix."
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