Prizilla Shinjini 
Twitter’s Reconstruction in Design – Micro-blogging site Twitter is rolling out several visual changes to its Web and mobile apps to make the platform less cluttered and simple to use. The design changes, according to Twitter, make the platform more accessible, unique, and focused on users and what they are talking about. The changes include a new font, that the company is calling “Chirp.” This font is a mix of American Gothic and European Grotesque styles. Twitter announced the design changes via the Twitter Design official account and said that it is rolling out now to Web, Android, and iOS platforms.
Apart from the font, the interface colours have witnessed a subtle change that offers higher contrast and less blue. This, the company says it to draw more attention to photos and videos shared on Twitter. The company says that it is looking to offer more palette options to users with new colours coming soon.
The beggining
In addition, Twitter’s Reconstruction in Design is also introducing new buttons with high contrast to make the “most important actions” and stand out. Changes have been made to the Follow button as well and are now black in colour, helping users see what actions they have taken at a glance. The visual clutter has been reduced to make the text easier to read and make media stand out.
Twitter on Wednesday unveiled a new design for its website on twitter’s reconstruction, including a new font, higher-contrast colours and less visual clutter. The social media company said the changes are meant to make it easier for people to scroll through text, photos and videos. “While it might feel weird at first, these updates make us more accessible, unique, and focused on you and what you’re talking about,” Twitter Design said in a tweet.
Notice anything different?
— Twitter Design (@TwitterDesign) August 11, 2021
Today, we released a few changes to the way Twitter looks on the web and on your phone. While it might feel weird at first, these updates make us more accessible, unique, and focused on you and what you’re talking about.
Let’s take a deeper look. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/vCUomsgCNA
The Social Network and the Features
As social networks expand the number of features on their websites, introducing things such as live audio, shopping and newsletters, the sites can feel like they’re becoming harder to navigate. So it’s not surprising that companies such as Twitter are trying to make their sites feel less cluttered. As part of the makeover, Twitter said, it created its own font for the first time, called Chirp. In the past, the company has used typefaces such as SF Pro, Roboto and Helvetica Neue. Twitter said all Western-language text aligns to left, a change that should make it easier for users to read the text as they’re scrolling through the site.
However, some Twitter users tweeted they weren’t fans of the changes and called the new font “ugly” or “unfinished.” The site’s colours are now higher contrast and less blue so photos and videos on Twitter stand out more. There are also fewer grey backgrounds and divider lines, and the company said it increased space to make the text easier to read.
The change being both a boon and a ban to twitter
Change is never easy, and Twitter users aren’t afraid to complain. On Wednesday, those two truisms combined when Twitter unveiled a new design that included a new font, called Chirp, and higher-contrast colours. Almost immediately, users began to complain — with many saying the new font gave them headaches. (This writer is getting them too.) A Twitter spokesperson told me, “We tested the font and found that while it does take people a little time to get used to it, overall they like the change. We’re listening to feedback about the font and will continue to improve it.”
Pity the poor Twitter employee in twitter’s reconstruction in design who had to gamely charge onto the platform and explain why the changes are for the better because no one wanted them even if they were. “Today, we released a few changes to the way Twitter looks on the web and your phone,” a tweet from Twitter Design reads about the twitter’s reconstruction. “While it might feel weird at first, these updates make us more accessible, unique, and focused on you and what you’re talking about.”
Some Trending Tweets about the update
Chirp, the new typeface
Twitter’s Derrit DeRouen posted an entire thread about why the company felt a need to develop its own typeface, writing that, “for everyday use, it must be sharp and legible (with good density), but with personality and distinctiveness.”
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. pic.twitter.com/OrvlYsxF9g— Derrit DeRouen (@DerritDeRouen) January 27, 2021
But some found Chirp harder to read.
“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let us change the font back,” said one Twitter user. “It’s incredibly difficult for me to read with, and it physically hurts to look at it.”
Said another, “It looks like the letters are doing the wave, I hate it.”
More on Chirp, the new typeface
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
You could’ve just made the font changeable based on the user settings (and Android already did that! Not sure about iOS though) and made a lot of this under settings, instead of forcing it upon users that don’t even want the change— Naz (@BluSpringg) 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
Pass the aspirin
Several Twitter users made the same point: The new font is giving them headaches – amid Twitter’s Reconstruction in Design.
“The new Twitter font has cured my addiction to this birding app because I actually can’t scroll without getting a headache now,” wrote one user.
“Read tweets with Twitter’s new font and get a headache,” one person wrote. “Then maybe you’ll close your eyes out of frustration and eventually fall asleep.”
the new twitter font has cured my addiction to this bird app because i actually can’t scroll without getting a headache now— ali de haan (@lunetsdaya) 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
More on the aspirin
came back to twitter only to get a headache because of the new fontpic.twitter.com/hkOYppGswK— Queen mystic cashier (@yjmint_) August 11, 2021
I’ve heard several people say they have a headache and had to stop using desktop twitter for now— 🍒spooky maiden🛡️ (@sunrisegrove) August 11, 2021
Ok but is anyone else getting a slight headache from the Twitter font change or just me— Max @ Meat Meditation (@tuxedomakscos) August 11, 2021
Color my world
Another change involved the colour scheme of the site. Notably, Follow buttons are now black in regular mode or white in dark mode, whereas before, users could choose from a variety of different colours.
“Our new buttons are high contrast too,” the site’s design account posted. “Now the most important actions you can take stand out. Yes, the following buttons look different, but they’ll help you see what actions you’ve taken at a glance. – amid Twitter’s Reconstruction in Design”
Our new buttons are high contrast too.
Now the most important actions you can take stand out. Yes, the follow buttons look different, but they’ll help you see what actions you’ve taken at a glance.— Twitter Design (@TwitterDesign) August 11, 2021
But some users weren’t fans. Said one, “the new black buttons for the following someone feels like I am about to curse them with my newfound presence which I guess is, accurate.”
the new black buttons for following someone feel like i am about to curse them with my newfound presence which i guess is like, accurate— stephanie (@isosteph) August 11, 2021
I love how I use dark mode to prevent eye strain and headaches and then twitter is like “what if we made the follow button bright white on a dark background wouldn’t that be great” no it’s giving me the eye strain I’m trying to avoid— Queenie (@queer_queenie) August 11, 2021
More on color my world
So you keep our custom colored buttons for “Tweet” and “Reply” but not follow? That’s just so jarring, and we would rather keep the custom color for everything, not be forced to have the one you pick for us
Hope you take this into consideration pic.twitter.com/3h6TuCny1n— Sol (@FavoniusSol) August 11, 2021
I literally unfollowed and followed someone because of this ingenius plan. Oh but the “Reply” button is blue. Hey @Twitter your design is inconsistent and broken. Fire someone.— Alternate Radio Ghosts (@altradioghosts) August 11, 2021
just had a brief “fuck fuck did I unfollow this person and now have to follow them back after which they’ll know I unfollowed them in the first place” moment but Twitter just changed the colour of buttons— Jenn (@jennschiffer) August 11, 2021
