4 ms·

Honestly speaking for myself I think roboto and Calibri are excellent fonts. Readable and aesthetically pleasing, what's the general opinion on these default f

by Jonnax 6y ago

Honestly speaking for myself I think roboto and Calibri are excellent fonts. Readable and aesthetically pleasing, what's the general opinion on these default fonts in the typography world?

throwaway287391 6y ago
I don't mind Calibri, but I've always thought it was a surprising choice as a default since whenever MS Word switched to it. It just looks too "friendly" for "serious business" to me. I think if you interpolated between Helvetica and Comic Sans you'd get something like Calibri on the way. (PS I know nothing about typography.)
- Avshalom 6y ago
  I'd bet that was partly on purpose to try and curb comic sans usage
  - mark-r 6y ago
    Comic Sans is too successful. It has such a perfect air of informality that it gets chosen by everyone who wants to avoid a stuffy formality. To me it goes too far though, like a clown suit.
currysausage 6y ago
My opinion: Calibri is an excellent font, created by one of the leading contemporary typographers, but like every default font, it is a non-choice, too boring for professional applications where style is a concern, thanks to its ubiquity. Roboto is (or: has become, its beginnings were somewhat rough) a great screen font, but for printed applications, it tends to look a little dull. This has to do with ubiquity, but also with the simplicity that is inherent to most screen fonts.
joe5150 6y ago
I don't care for Calibri and I wish Segoe were the default in Word.
- pvorb 6y ago
  Yes! Segoe UI looks brilliant. I'm not sure how it looks on paper, though.
  - joe5150 6y ago
    I think it looks pretty good printed. https://imgur.com/a/mpJtv8o https://imgur.com/a/mpJtv8o
- joegahona 6y ago
  Do you know if this is available in Google Docs? This is the font Notion uses, and I really like it.
  - joe5150 6y ago
    It doesn't appear to be. Microsoft provides an open-source alternative called Selawik which I suppose could in theory be added to Google Fonts and thus become available in Google Docs, but that hasn't happened.
- Xenoamorphous 6y ago
  Is it me or the uppercase i looks a bit weird? Like a serif letter among sans serif ones?
  - joe5150 6y ago
    In Segoe UI? The uppercase letter i is sans. https://imgur.com/a/RxN88xs https://imgur.com/a/RxN88xs
    - Xenoamorphous 6y ago
      Ah it seems I was looking at the old Segoe.
tln 6y ago
They are excellent fonts. Neither is default across platforms though, nor are they serif fonts... For a sans serif, default font, I like Palatino. Classic, nice open counters.
- gindely 6y ago
  Palatino is serif?
  - mark-r 6y ago
    Very much serif. I believe Apple used it as their corporate font back in the 1980's.
- gjm11 6y ago
  (Obviously "sans serif" should say "serif".) I suggest that on any occasion when you're inclined to use Palatino for substantial quantities of text (as opposed to titles, posters, book covers, etc.) you would do better to use Aldus instead. (Aldus is a companion face to Palatino; Zapf's intention was that Palatino is for "display" use -- titles, posters, etc. -- and Aldus is for body-text.)

by Jonnax 6y ago

Honestly speaking for myself I think roboto and Calibri are excellent fonts. Readable and aesthetically pleasing, what's the general opinion on these default fonts in the typography world?

throwaway287391 6y ago

I don't mind Calibri, but I've always thought it was a surprising choice as a default since whenever MS Word switched to it. It just looks too "friendly" for "serious business" to me. I think if you interpolated between Helvetica and Comic Sans you'd get something like Calibri on the way. (PS I know nothing about typography.)

Avshalom 6y ago
I'd bet that was partly on purpose to try and curb comic sans usage
- mark-r 6y ago
  Comic Sans is too successful. It has such a perfect air of informality that it gets chosen by everyone who wants to avoid a stuffy formality. To me it goes too far though, like a clown suit.

currysausage 6y ago

My opinion: Calibri is an excellent font, created by one of the leading contemporary typographers, but like every default font, it is a non-choice, too boring for professional applications where style is a concern, thanks to its ubiquity. Roboto is (or: has become, its beginnings were somewhat rough) a great screen font, but for printed applications, it tends to look a little dull. This has to do with ubiquity, but also with the simplicity that is inherent to most screen fonts.

joe5150 6y ago

I don't care for Calibri and I wish Segoe were the default in Word.

pvorb 6y ago
Yes! Segoe UI looks brilliant. I'm not sure how it looks on paper, though.
- joe5150 6y ago
  I think it looks pretty good printed. https://imgur.com/a/mpJtv8o https://imgur.com/a/mpJtv8o
joegahona 6y ago
Do you know if this is available in Google Docs? This is the font Notion uses, and I really like it.
- joe5150 6y ago
  It doesn't appear to be. Microsoft provides an open-source alternative called Selawik which I suppose could in theory be added to Google Fonts and thus become available in Google Docs, but that hasn't happened.
Xenoamorphous 6y ago
Is it me or the uppercase i looks a bit weird? Like a serif letter among sans serif ones?
- joe5150 6y ago
  In Segoe UI? The uppercase letter i is sans. https://imgur.com/a/RxN88xs https://imgur.com/a/RxN88xs
  - Xenoamorphous 6y ago
    Ah it seems I was looking at the old Segoe.

tln 6y ago

They are excellent fonts. Neither is default across platforms though, nor are they serif fonts... For a sans serif, default font, I like Palatino. Classic, nice open counters.

gindely 6y ago
Palatino is serif?
- mark-r 6y ago
  Very much serif. I believe Apple used it as their corporate font back in the 1980's.
gjm11 6y ago
(Obviously "sans serif" should say "serif".) I suggest that on any occasion when you're inclined to use Palatino for substantial quantities of text (as opposed to titles, posters, book covers, etc.) you would do better to use Aldus instead. (Aldus is a companion face to Palatino; Zapf's intention was that Palatino is for "display" use -- titles, posters, etc. -- and Aldus is for body-text.)