Microsoft changes default Office font for first time in 15 years
Microsoft is replacing the default font in its Office productivity apps for the first time in over 15 years.
The “Calibri” typeface, first introduced in Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista, started making way for “Aptos” on Thursday, 13 July 2023.
Microsoft said the new typeface would become the default for “hundreds of millions” of users on the Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint apps.
“Over the next few months, it will roll out to be the default for all our customers,” the company said.
Aptos is a renamed version of Bierstadt — one of five fonts Microsoft previously commissioned to replace Calibri.
Microsoft said the new font needed to have sharpness, uniformity, and be great for display type.
Based on years of feedback from public testers, Bierstadt (now Aptos) was a better option than Grandview, Seaford, Skeena, and Tenorite.
Those four fonts will continue to be available for users that prefer one of them.
Aptos is a sans-serif typeface by default, featuring simple letterforms and even strokes.
It comes with four different font weights and serif variants for a “less hyper-modern look,” Microsoft said.
Microsoft said some of the features included a distinctive tail for the lowercase L to distinguish it from the capitalised I.
“The heads of i’s and j’s are circular dots as opposed to grotesque squares. 6 is single-stroked while two piled ellipticals make 8,” it added.
Aptos is the creation of Steve Matteson, who Microsoft said was one of the world’s leading type designers.
Matteson renamed Bierstadt to Aptos after his favourite unincorporated town in Santa Cruz, California.
“The fog, beaches, redwood trees, and mountains of Aptos summed up everything that he loved about California,” Microsoft said.
“Getting away from digital and evoking the outdoors was akin to getting back to pencil and paper.”
“Drawing letters by hand would play a pivotal role in Steve’s creative process.”
While greatly influenced by nature, Matteson added a humanist touch to the fonts.
“He wanted Aptos to have the universal appeal of the late NPR newscaster Carl Kasell and the astute tone of The Late Show host Stephen Colbert.”
Before Aptos and Calibri, Microsoft’s default fonts for Word were Times New Roman and Arial.
Below are images showing the Aptos font in more weights and styles.
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