The font used by Microsoft in Windows and other official brand things is Segoe UI, and there are a few other defaults mixed in there as well. Ultimately it proved to be a good decision, and anyway TNR is still usually the default for serif-specified text.To be clear, this is about defaults for user-created stuff, like Word files. Of course the switch from Times New Roman back in 2007 was controversial вЂ” going from a serif default to a sans serif default ruffled a lot of feathers. A default font should be something you donвЂ™t notice and donвЂ™t feel the need to change unless you want something specific.

So we (and by we I mean Darrell) made our own little specimen to judge by:You may notice Grandview is missing. Unfortunately MicrosoftвЂ™s only options for seeing the text, apart from writing it out in your own 365 apps, are the tweet (doesnвЂ™t have all the letters) or some colorful but not informative graphic presentations. WeвЂ™re going to get into it.

First because it has a differentiated lowercase l, which I think is important. At low resolutions like we had in 2007 this didnвЂ™t really come across, but now itвЂ™s more obvious and actually a little weird, making it look a bit like magnetic fridge letters.Bierstadt is my pick and what I think Microsoft will pick. It gets its friendly appearance from the tips of the letters, which are buffed off like they were afraid kids might run into them.

Geometric sans serifs (look at the big fat вЂњdog,вЂќ all circles) look great at medium size but small they tend to make for weird, wide spacing. Congratulations, designer Steve Matteson.Tenorite is my backup pick, because itвЂ™s nice but less practical for a default font. ItвЂ™s practical, clear and doesnвЂ™t give you a reason to pick a different font. The t ends without curling up, and thereвЂ™s no distracting tail on the a, among other things вЂ” sadly the most common letter, lowercase e, is ugly, like a chipped theta.

The d looks like it had too much to eat and is resting its belly on the ground. The j looks like someone kicked an i. The lowercase k and a are horrifying, like broken pretzels. Third place.Seaford is an interesting one, but itвЂ™s trying too hard with these angular loops and terminals.

ItвЂ™s not bad at all, but itвЂ™s inhuman, robotic. Fortunately I feel confident it wonвЂ™t be the next default. It looked like Dingbats in regular, but was fine in bold and italic. Fourth Place.Grandview didnвЂ™t render properly for us. I like the extra strong bold and the g actually works, but this would really bug me to use every day.

Bierstadt is the smart pick, because itвЂ™s good in general while the others are all situational. IвЂ™m guessing theyвЂ™ve already picked one. Last place.So what should you вЂњvoteвЂќ for by tweeting hard at Microsoft? Probably it doesnвЂ™t matter. See how any opportunity there is for a straight line is taken? Nice for a logo вЂ” feels strong structurally вЂ” but a paragraph of it would look like a barcode.

Plain Text Font Wrong Outlook For Mac