Microsoft has announced the winner of its font replacement competition, which aimed to find a new default font for its Office productivity apps. After presenting the public with five competing fonts and gathering feedback through Twitter polls and online channels, the winning font has been revealed as Bierstadt. However, Microsoft has decided to give the font a name change, and it will now be known as Aptos.
The creator of Aptos is Steve Matteson, known for his work on the original Windows TrueType core fonts and the creation of the Segoe font. Aptos was specifically designed to enhance legibility on higher-definition displays. The font’s new name, Aptos, was suggested by Matteson himself and was inspired by a favorite destination of his, an unincorporated town in the Santa Cruz area of California.
According to the Medium post by Microsoft Design, Aptos is a sans-serif font influenced by mid-20th-century Swiss typography. Sans serif fonts are known for their simplicity, even strokes, and readability, and Aptos embodies these characteristics with its bold, well-defined, and directive design. It is versatile, accommodating various languages and tones, and features clean-cut stem ends. The inclusion of subtle circular squares within the letters’ contours enhances legibility, especially at smaller sizes.
Further, the post also highlights some specific details about certain letters in the Aptos font. The lowercase “l” now has a distinctive tail, distinguishing it from the capital “I.” The heads of “i” and “j” are circular dots instead of the previous square design. Additionally, the number “6” is now single-stroked, while the number “8” is composed of two stacked ellipticals.
Although Aptos will be the new default font for Microsoft Office, the four losing fonts from the competition—Tenorite, Skeena, Seaford, and Grandview—will still be available as optional selections in the Office apps. Web users will also find a new font menu, which includes the previous default font Calibri as a pre-pinned option at the top.
With the introduction of Aptos as the new default font, Microsoft aims to provide a visually pleasing and highly readable experience for its Office users. The font’s carefully crafted design and attention to detail demonstrate the company’s commitment to improving user experience and accommodating diverse language requirements.
Via: Neowin