Microsoft Office’s ‘major change’ will be switch the way we typed

Microsoft is announcing a change for the first time in 15 years. The company has announced a change of typeface — Microsoft’s new default font — and introduced Aptos, a modern successor to Calibri. Modern, you say?

Aptos is a result of Microsoft’s search for a font for higher resolution screens that needed to have sharpness and uniformity.

“For 15 years, our beloved Calibri was Microsoft’s default font and crown keeper of office communications, but as you know, our relationship has come to a natural end. We changed. The technology we use every day has changed,” Microsoft said, while announcing the new font.

“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,” Microsoft said. Users across the globe will get the new typeface as default over the next few months.

Why Aptos
Microsoft commissioned five new fonts – Bierstadt, Grandview, Seaford, Skeena and Tenorite – in April 2021. All of them were added to the drop-down font picker. The company asked a few users what should be the next default font for Microsoft 365 people “resonated” the most with Bierstadt, which is renamed to Aptos.

Similar to mid-20th-century Swiss typography, Aptos is a sans serif. Also referred to as Grotesque or Gothic, sans serif often have simple letterforms, even strokes and they’re easily readable. Microsoft says that Aptos, which is made of varying geometric shapes, is bold, well-defined, directive and constrained. It terms the new typeface as professional and relatable.

“Aptos embodies professionalism, adaptability, subtle flourishes of expression, and more clarity,” it said. The other fonts can still be used and users can select the font they want to be their default font in settings.

“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. There’s a newly designed font picker experience, along with new themes, colours and backgrounds,” Microsoft said.

FacebookTwitterLinkedin

end of article

Microsoft is announcing a change for the first time in 15 years. The company has announced a change of typeface — Microsoft’s new default font — and introduced Aptos, a modern successor to Calibri. Modern, you say?

Aptos is a result of Microsoft’s search for a font for higher resolution screens that needed to have sharpness and uniformity.

“For 15 years, our beloved Calibri was Microsoft’s default font and crown keeper of office communications, but as you know, our relationship has come to a natural end. We changed. The technology we use every day has changed,” Microsoft said, while announcing the new font.

“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,” Microsoft said. Users across the globe will get the new typeface as default over the next few months.

Why Aptos
Microsoft commissioned five new fonts – Bierstadt, Grandview, Seaford, Skeena and Tenorite – in April 2021. All of them were added to the drop-down font picker. The company asked a few users what should be the next default font for Microsoft 365 people “resonated” the most with Bierstadt, which is renamed to Aptos.

Similar to mid-20th-century Swiss typography, Aptos is a sans serif. Also referred to as Grotesque or Gothic, sans serif often have simple letterforms, even strokes and they’re easily readable. Microsoft says that Aptos, which is made of varying geometric shapes, is bold, well-defined, directive and constrained. It terms the new typeface as professional and relatable.

“Aptos embodies professionalism, adaptability, subtle flourishes of expression, and more clarity,” it said. The other fonts can still be used and users can select the font they want to be their default font in settings.

“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. There’s a newly designed font picker experience, along with new themes, colours and backgrounds,” Microsoft said.

FacebookTwitterLinkedin

end of article