The Times, they are etc., etc.

I'm not normally one to pay attention to the font choices of British newspapers, let alone attempt to critique them, but when London's The Times redesigns, I suppose it's worth paying attention. It is, after all, the paper for which Times New Roman was created. Newspaper mastheads are often a good place to observe the evolution of typographic style, and The Times was kind enough to provide a slideshow covering their changes since 1785. The professional crowd seems to approve of the change, but I'm not so sure I like it. While it does hark back to a design from the 1960s, and certainly meets their goals of being "masculine, English, direct, [and] simple", it's too abstracted for my tastes. It looks fine in mixed case, but in all caps, it's as if it's become a caricature of its former self. Maybe I just need some time to get used to it.

Here are their most recent mastheads and typefaces:

Times Roman (1982)

Times Millennium (1991)

Times Classic (2002)

Times Modern (2006)