Microsoft is changing its Calibri default font with Aptos, a new sans-serif typeface that’s impressed by mid-20th-century Swiss typography. Previously generally known as Bierstadt, Microsoft has been on the hunt for its new Aptos default font over the previous couple of years. The software program big commissioned 5 new customized fonts for Office in 2021, and the Aptos font was picked because the default after years of suggestions.
“Today we begin the final phase of this major change where Aptos will start appearing as the new default font across Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Excel for hundreds of millions of users,” explains Si Daniels, a principal program supervisor at Microsoft, in a design blog post right now. “And, over the next few months it will roll out to be the default for all our customers.”
Aptos was created by Steve Matteson, a number one sort designer. Matteson beforehand created Segoe, which was licensed by Microsoft for use because the Windows default font. Microsoft first began utilizing the Segoe UI font subfamily in Windows Vista, and it’s nonetheless utilized in Windows 11 right now. Matteson additionally labored on the event of the unique Windows TrueType core fonts. Bierstadt has been renamed to Aptos after Matteson’s favourite unincorporated city in Santa Cruz, California.
Aptos’ stroke endings are very clearly lower off, however there’s some delicate softening to keep away from the inflexible grid-based typography you usually discover with a font like this. Helvetica is probably the most well-known instance of one of these “grotesque san-serif” font, and Matteson has contrasted Microsoft’s Arial font right here, too.
While Aptos will change Calibri because the default, Calibri will nonetheless be pre-pinned on the high of a new font menu (solely out there on net initially) alongside its predecessors, Times New Roman and Arial.
Calibri has been the default Office font because the launch of Office 2007, changing Times New Roman on the time. Calibri is so broadly used that it even turned a key piece of proof in a corruption investigation surrounding Pakistan’s prime minister in 2017. Not everybody has been utilizing Calibri for years, although.
The US State Department solely simply directed its workers to make use of Calibri for memos earlier this 12 months. The State Department had been utilizing Times New Roman as an alternative since 2004. Given it’s taken them the complete 16 years to modify over to Calibri, they’ll most likely be ready one other decade or extra to finally swap to Aptos.
The different 4 fonts that weren’t chosen because the default — Grandview, Seaford, Skeena, and Tenorite — will nonetheless be out there in Office, and Microsoft is even protecting the Bierstadt font title round within the drop-down picker for individuals who have already change into conversant in it.
“Aptos is a part of a broader wave of features coming to Microsoft 365. We’re pushing to make the software more expressive and inclusive,” explains Daniels. “There’s a newly designed font picker experience, along with new themes, colors, and backgrounds.”
