“Calibri” will soon be sent to a well-deserved retirement. Since 2007, the sans serif font has been the standard font for Microsoft Office applications. Well we went 5 new designs presented. One of the contenders will be the new standard font in Office 365 applications starting in 2022. You can choose from Tenorite, Bierstadt, Skeena, Seaford and Grandview.

Tenorite It was developed by Erin McLaughlin and Wei Huang and is the most traditional of the new designs. It’s reminiscent of classic fonts like Times New Romans, but it should look more modern and friendly. Wide letters and clear punctuation should make reading easier.

Bierstadt was developed by Steve Mattinson, which is based on 20th century Swiss typeface. Light edges are used here, the font is reminiscent of Arial and Helvetica.

Skeena, developed by John Hudson and Paul Hanslow, wants to be “humanist” and stands out with a clear contrast between slim and bold format. It should be suitable for long texts as well as for presentations and brochures.

Seaford It was developed by Tobias Frere-Jones, Nina Stössinger, and Fred Shallcrass. It is asymmetrical and organic. Designers were inspired by old armchairs. The design is actually reminiscent of classic serif fonts. It should ensure better readability, especially with long texts.

Grandview Aaron Bell’s is possibly the most outlandish of the new fonts. It was inspired by German road signs. It should be clearly legible, for example in presentations, but it should also be pleasing for longer texts.

It has not yet been decided which of the 5 fonts will eventually become the new standard. Microsoft wants to discuss the designs in the coming months. They are already available as cloud sources and therefore can be used in all Microsoft Office 365 applications. They were published as cloud sources and therefore do not need to be downloaded separately. If you open an Office 365 application and have an active internet connection, the new fonts should already be available.