5 ms·

Behind the design: A deep dive into Aptos

31 points by haxfenx 3y ago

quantified 3y ago
[flagged]
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
asystole 3y ago
> ClearTypefont display technology Did it get renamed? I thought it was just called ClearType?
- bradrn 3y ago
  Looks like a typo for ‘ClearType font display technology’.
giva 3y ago
Is this font designed for HiDpI displays? It really looks bad on my fullhd laptop and on my 32 inch 4k monitor.
- waldothedog 3y ago
  In what way does it look bad? Historically, digital-focus fonts have been drawn specifically to handle very lo res displays, or very small print applications (optical embellishment, ink traps, etc)… but given that type designers are notoriously detail oriented and that font files are collections of vectors, I can’t see a reason why the design would lead to these effects. Ironically (since this is a Microsoft post) Windows often mangles type display, so can browser settings and CSS defaults/resets.
  - waldothedog 3y ago
    For clarification, that was a “in what way?” to get more information, not to dispute that it looks fugly for you.
    - chfalck 3y ago
      It’s also possible this commenter is seeing a fallback default font if Atpos is not available / didn’t download correctly on their system configuration
    - giva 3y ago
      It may as well be down to a matter of taste, but I found it quite harder to read. I tried to find what exactly i dislike about it, and the impression I get is that the weight and the spacing (kerning?) is inconsistent on the line. It reminds me a bit of linux desktop before the availability of decent free fonts.
  - Const-me 3y ago
    > In what way does it look bad? For example, on my 27” 4k display with 150% DPI scaling, I can’t easily distinguish commas from dots. I’ve been using displays like that for a decade now. Aptos is the only font with that issue.
shrubble 3y ago
That's a lot of words to not even show the typeface clearly at different sizes...
- ramraj07 3y ago
  Isnt the entire blog in that font?
NelsonMinar 3y ago
Is it possible to easily download the full suite of Aptos variants? Did they commission expanded designs for the other four like they did for Aptos? Are there monospace or serif versions available?
- KingMob 3y ago
  It's in the article, but tl;dr yes
  - NelsonMinar 3y ago
    I read the whole article before asking and just re-read it again. I don't see answers to either of my questions. I'm guessing from other clues in the article the answer to my second question is "no".
- WorldMaker 3y ago
  Office will download the full suite of variants on request. For other download options (including licensing/redistribution for use outside of Office/Microsoft 365), it looks like Microsoft's usual deal with MonoType Foundry applies to Aptos as well and that you can make purchases at Fonts.com. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/aptos#licensing-and-redistribution-info https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/aptos...
- SushiHippie 3y ago
  > Are there monospace or serif versions available? One of the section titles in the article is: "For your alternative pleasures: serif and monospace fonts"
  - d1sxeyes 3y ago
    I believe that the question was linked to the previous one; out of the five sans-serif designs commissioned by Microsoft, are the serif and monospace versions available for the other four. I was also interested, but I believe that if these were commissioned, they have not been made public. With regards to OP's other question: 'Is it possible to easily download the full suite of Aptos variants?', I believe the answer is 'no', unless you're prepared to go clicking random 'download' links on sites of dubious legitimacy. There's some discussion here on how you can access the fonts when they are downloaded by Office, with an appropriate note that the legality of this may depend on your jurisdiction, but it is fairly certainly a breach of the Font License: https://www.reddit.com/r/GoodNotes/comments/15zpsh2/anyone_know_a_good_place_to_download_the_aptos/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GoodNotes/comments/15zpsh2/anyone_k... It also does not seem to be possible to separately license Aptos through the licensing portal linked by Microsoft in the Aptos font details page: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/aptos https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/aptos, https://www.fonts.com/content/microsoft-typography https://www.fonts.com/content/microsoft-typography
Solvency 3y ago
It cracks me up when Microsoft posts these infinitesimally niche design projects/articles, where they pretend to care about good design, and then utterly fail to deliver it systematically across the organization, let alone even fractionally. Remember when Google paid hundreds of freelancers a lot of money to come up with Material, and then how even that fizzled out?
- ipsum2 3y ago
  I can't think of a single Google interface that isn't on Material, though Material is on its 2nd or 3rd design iteration now.
solarkraft 3y ago
Microsoft loves switching from one bad thing to another bad thing.
skgough 3y ago
It seems that neo-grotesques have fully supplanted the humanist typefaces in modern designs, with Aptos joining Inter and San Francisco. I wonder if Microsoft will replace Segoe at some point.

31 points by haxfenx 3y ago

quantified 3y ago

[flagged]

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

asystole 3y ago

> ClearTypefont display technology Did it get renamed? I thought it was just called ClearType?

bradrn 3y ago
Looks like a typo for ‘ClearType font display technology’.

giva 3y ago

Is this font designed for HiDpI displays? It really looks bad on my fullhd laptop and on my 32 inch 4k monitor.

waldothedog 3y ago
In what way does it look bad? Historically, digital-focus fonts have been drawn specifically to handle very lo res displays, or very small print applications (optical embellishment, ink traps, etc)… but given that type designers are notoriously detail oriented and that font files are collections of vectors, I can’t see a reason why the design would lead to these effects. Ironically (since this is a Microsoft post) Windows often mangles type display, so can browser settings and CSS defaults/resets.
- waldothedog 3y ago
  For clarification, that was a “in what way?” to get more information, not to dispute that it looks fugly for you.
  - chfalck 3y ago
    It’s also possible this commenter is seeing a fallback default font if Atpos is not available / didn’t download correctly on their system configuration
  - giva 3y ago
    It may as well be down to a matter of taste, but I found it quite harder to read. I tried to find what exactly i dislike about it, and the impression I get is that the weight and the spacing (kerning?) is inconsistent on the line. It reminds me a bit of linux desktop before the availability of decent free fonts.
- Const-me 3y ago
  > In what way does it look bad? For example, on my 27” 4k display with 150% DPI scaling, I can’t easily distinguish commas from dots. I’ve been using displays like that for a decade now. Aptos is the only font with that issue.

shrubble 3y ago

That's a lot of words to not even show the typeface clearly at different sizes...

ramraj07 3y ago
Isnt the entire blog in that font?

NelsonMinar 3y ago

Is it possible to easily download the full suite of Aptos variants? Did they commission expanded designs for the other four like they did for Aptos? Are there monospace or serif versions available?

KingMob 3y ago
It's in the article, but tl;dr yes
- NelsonMinar 3y ago
  I read the whole article before asking and just re-read it again. I don't see answers to either of my questions. I'm guessing from other clues in the article the answer to my second question is "no".
WorldMaker 3y ago
Office will download the full suite of variants on request. For other download options (including licensing/redistribution for use outside of Office/Microsoft 365), it looks like Microsoft's usual deal with MonoType Foundry applies to Aptos as well and that you can make purchases at Fonts.com. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/aptos#licensing-and-redistribution-info https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/aptos...
SushiHippie 3y ago
> Are there monospace or serif versions available? One of the section titles in the article is: "For your alternative pleasures: serif and monospace fonts"
- d1sxeyes 3y ago
  I believe that the question was linked to the previous one; out of the five sans-serif designs commissioned by Microsoft, are the serif and monospace versions available for the other four. I was also interested, but I believe that if these were commissioned, they have not been made public. With regards to OP's other question: 'Is it possible to easily download the full suite of Aptos variants?', I believe the answer is 'no', unless you're prepared to go clicking random 'download' links on sites of dubious legitimacy. There's some discussion here on how you can access the fonts when they are downloaded by Office, with an appropriate note that the legality of this may depend on your jurisdiction, but it is fairly certainly a breach of the Font License: https://www.reddit.com/r/GoodNotes/comments/15zpsh2/anyone_know_a_good_place_to_download_the_aptos/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GoodNotes/comments/15zpsh2/anyone_k... It also does not seem to be possible to separately license Aptos through the licensing portal linked by Microsoft in the Aptos font details page: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/aptos https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/aptos, https://www.fonts.com/content/microsoft-typography https://www.fonts.com/content/microsoft-typography

Solvency 3y ago

It cracks me up when Microsoft posts these infinitesimally niche design projects/articles, where they pretend to care about good design, and then utterly fail to deliver it systematically across the organization, let alone even fractionally. Remember when Google paid hundreds of freelancers a lot of money to come up with Material, and then how even that fizzled out?

ipsum2 3y ago
I can't think of a single Google interface that isn't on Material, though Material is on its 2nd or 3rd design iteration now.

solarkraft 3y ago

Microsoft loves switching from one bad thing to another bad thing.

skgough 3y ago

It seems that neo-grotesques have fully supplanted the humanist typefaces in modern designs, with Aptos joining Inter and San Francisco. I wonder if Microsoft will replace Segoe at some point.