Image: Microsoft
When Calibri replaced Times New Roman as the default font for all things Microsoft back in 2007, some users took a liking to it. Others were quick to head straight to changing their default font settings or have just had to bear it — until now.
Microsoft has announced it has commissioned five new custom fonts, one of which will be selected to “eventually” replace Calibri as the default. For now though, users can download these new fonts. Once downloaded, the fonts are available for use in all Office apps.
“[Calibri] has served us all well, but we believe it’s time to evolve,” Microsoft said in a blog post.
Users are then encouraged to provide Microsoft feedback and comments via Twitter to help the company decided which one of the five should be selected as the next default font.
“We’ll be evaluating these five directions over the next few months,” it said.
The five new fonts that have been introduced are: Tenorite, Bierstadt, Skeena, Seaford, and Grandview. According to Microsoft, each new font is a various style of Sans Serif.
Tenorite is a “warmer, more friendly style” sans serif font; Bierstadt is a “precise, contemporary” sans serif with stroke endings; Skeena, while sans serif, is based on shapes of traditional serif text typefaces; Seaford is described as having “old-style serif text typefaces”; and Grandview has been designed to be “legible at a distance and under poor conditions”.
Microsoft added that if users dislike the next chosen default font, they still have the option to select their preference from the font menu in all Microsoft 365 Office apps.
