After 15 years, Microsoft is swapping the default font in 365 and Office apps, Calibri, with a new kid on the block — Aptos. It appears to be a simple sans-serif font but Microsoft thinks that the font offers more flexibility.
“The font needed to have sharpness, uniformity, and be great for display type. It was exciting at times, but also intimidating. How do you replace Calibri? How do you find that one true font that can take its place as the rightful default?” Microsoft has said. “Aptos will start appearing as the new default font across Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Excel for hundreds of millions of users. And, over the next few months it will roll out to be the default for all our customers.”
Microsoft commissioned five new fonts: Bierstadt, Grandview, Seaford, Skeena, and Tenorite. Ultimately Bierstadt has been chosen and the font is now known as Aptos.
The typeface has been created by Steve Matteson, whose previous work includes the development of the original Windows TrueType core fonts and the creation of Segoe. Matteson renamed the typeface to Aptos after his favourite unincorporated town in Santa Cruz, California.
Relative to Arial, it is “more mechanical and rationalised” with “a lack of somewhat fussy curves”. Matteson says he drew the initial shapes by hand on paper rather than on a computer.
The other four fonts — Tenorite, Skeena, Seaford and Grandview — will also be available in Microsoft’s apps as non-default options.