Bibi Calibri: Microsoft changes its default font

In the coming year, the standard font will change at Microsoft. Almost 15 years after Calibri. Which font race to win is yet to be decided. Users can now choose between the five candidates offered by Microsoft.

Not all new fonts require a serif. They call themselves Pierstadt, Tenorite, Skina, Seaford and Grandview. Microsoft describes their style as “humanistic, geometric, with Swiss appeal and industrial appearance”. All designers explain their ideas Website for new font. The Fonts can already be used on most Microsoft 365 cloud services. Microsoft wants to decide in the coming months whether to gather feedback via social media.

Five candidates

Denorite Comes from Erin McLaughlin and Wei Huang, and has a “traditional workman” look, which is overall very classic. Microsoft writes that wide letters express an open feeling. It also borrows from Times New Roman, but is hot.

Pierstot By Steve Mateson is a modern printer that was inspired by Swiss typography in the mid-20th century: simple and rational, easy to read. Helvetica from 1957 is the best example of the Swiss font of the time. Pierstadt must provide a human connection to the digital world. The name is borrowed from a mountain in the Rocky Mountains.

Skina Created by John Hudson and Paul Hanslow. It has to be “humane” too. The thickness of the letters varies even at the base. Hanslow sought to summarize the best characteristics of many periods.

Seaford According to Microsoft, Tobias Freer-Jones, Nina Stasinger and Fred Schallcross have its variants with serifs in older variants. It helps to read through organic and asymmetric. The designers were impressed with the chairs, among other things: “Instead of softening it, trust the hardness, which is good for the back.”

Grandview Borrowing from German street signs, above all, must be clear from a distance. This is still an advantage of Aaron Bell’s font, for which he also observed German DIN standards. He describes the result with a “trendy machine style”.

(emw)