New Aptos font is now available in Microsoft 365

A ecosystem premiered today (13) the new font Aptos, which can now be used in any of the programs in the package Microsoft 365: Word, Outlook, Power point e Excel have the new typographic style. The novelty came after years of planning and feedback, being based on Swiss typography. See more:

What was the inspiration for the new Aptos font?

Switzerland's inspiration came from graphic design research with the country's 20th-century typography. That's why Helvetica also helped find the design for Aptos. In description for ecosystem, there is mention of a “humanization of digital spaces” with the new font, which tries to take advantage of the block style for typography, while making it less “serious”.

Even with the selection of five new fonts for Microsoft 365 in 2021, including the new one, which had another name (Beer City), the company had yet to make a decision: what would be the new standard font for Word and other programs? The source gauges, already well known within its applications, was an old option (default since the Office 2007) and the need arose to propose another typography — the name given to the creation of characters and their final appearance, exactly like the one you are seeing now, the font Inter.

And it emerged with the arrival of the Aptos format, which has a more rigid format, tending to be very similar to the Helvetica, which dates back to 1957 (following image). Both this font and the new typography have a feature in common: they do not have extensions, or serifs, as the parts at the ends of fonts are known, such as the Times New Roman (founded in 1932), which you can see in the comparison now:

How was the contest to define the default Microsoft font

Aptos was the winner of the contest, which was composed of five fonts. It came along with others, already announced in 2021: grandview, seaford, skeena e tenorite. Knowing this new typographic set, users had the chance to choose which would be the new pattern. In this way, the company sought to understand what was the view of its customers on the typography available, analyzing which was the most appropriate to become standard.

Now, the company that owns the system Windows seeks to involve its customers more so that they invest in products such as Excel ou Word, for example. Regarding the advantages, the company's program administrator, Si Daniels, published on the blog of ecosystem indicated that Aptos will be just one of the novelties that will arrive for consumers of editing software products.

There is a new font selection field design experience, along with new themes, colors, and backgrounds [for editing].

Si Daniels

Who created the Aptos font?

Before, Aptos was called Beer City, but the tech company decided to make a reference to the font author's favorite city in California, Steve Matteson. He is an experienced designer at Microsoft, having already participated in other projects, such as Segoe onion (used since Windows Vista) and in the font set TrueType, which names the main typographies of Microsoft programs.

[The city of] Aptos has a unique coastal climate, where there is a beach, and redwood trees. […] All these experiences and sensations you can have there and, in a similar way to the source, you have these different voices that you can speak with without distorting the message.

Steve Matteson, for CNBC

In 2019, he was still working for another design company, Monotype. It was precisely at that moment that Matteson was able to suggest the typographic proposals for Microsoft, which participated in the contest. In an interview for CNBC, the designer stated that none of the names of the professionals involved in choosing the other fonts were known to Microsoft, which prevented personal influence on the choice.

As for Microsoft Design, the professional said that the replacement for Calibri had to have more heat. His idea came from the greater presence of technology in our lives. Explains:

It's like listening to a GPS voice against a human voice. People would rather hear a human voice than a robot telling you to turn left.

Steve Matteson, for Microsoft Design

Among the five fonts in the contest, do you agree with the winner Aptos? Tell us in the comments showmetech!

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Source: CNBC | The Verge | Microsoft Blog | Microsoft Medium

Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim (13/07/23)