The European Championship is over, so if you're looking for something new to cheer about, you should keep an eye on Microsoft's choice of a new standard font. After 15 years, Calibri, the previous system font, is to be replaced. Five candidates are in the running and there is already a lot of lobbying going on in a district of Wiesbaden.
Bierstadt, Grandview, Seaford, Skeena and Tenorite are the names of the fonts that Microsoft has commissioned to replace the previous standard font Calibri. Users and typography enthusiasts can now vote on Twitter for the font they like best. The Bierstadt design by Steve Matteson is already attracting a lot of attention, which is mainly due to the local patriotism of Wiesbaden-based agency Q.
Bierstadt is a district of Wiesbaden, home to the oldest church in the city, an observatory and a beautiful apothecary garden, as well as the Q agency. From 2022, 1,000 million Microsoft users will finally be able to experience how great Bierstadt is, which is why the creative minds have started to beat the advertising drum. Q founders Thilo von Debschitz and Laurenz Nielbock quickly developed a range of merchandising articles and mobilized friends in Germany and around the world.
In fact, the campaign has already caused quite a stir, but the designers are not only interested in local color, there are also good reasons for the beer city. Laurenz Nielbock, for example, is himself affected by the Il problem, so if the capital I looks the same as the lowercase L, Bierstadt makes a clearer distinction here.
The creative minds at Q have neatly listed the other reasons for the beer city on their website. In the meantime, the T-shirts are also available again, and they were all sold out in the meantime. What was meant to be a fun project has obviously struck a nerve. More about the initiative at: Agency Q
Microsoft is collecting feedback on the fonts in question via this link on Twitter.
Achim Schaffrinna has also dealt with the fonts and their advantages and disadvantages on Designtagebuch. He has also collected voices and opinions from type designers such as Erik Spiekermann and Lucas de Groot (the designer of Calibri). So buy your Bierstadt mug quickly, vote with an open mind and then join in the excitement.
