“There are no bad fonts — only inappropriate ones.” — Jason BeairdThe public unveiling of Microsoft Windows Vista on January 30, 2007, marked a significant moment for computer users worldwide. However, those in the design community had been aware of it well in advance. With the beta release of Vista, many web designers eagerly began experimenting with its fonts, aiming to integrate them into their designs. Three key observations emerged:
1. The fonts are visually appealing typefaces.
2. They exhibit an unusual level of blurriness, particularly without ClearType or similar anti-aliasing protocols enabled, which poses a challenge for designers.
3. Their smaller size, compared to most fonts, complicates their integration into font stacks.
Microsoft, known for creating attractive and potentially valuable products like Vista, inadvertently made these fonts difficult to utilize. Despite this, I appreciate these fonts for their beauty and prevalence on user computers, as 92% of PCs used Windows as of May 2010. The design community deserves thoughtful consideration on how to incorporate these fonts effectively.
Let’s delve into the fonts themselves, starting with the six “C” fonts, named for their shared starting letter “C” and their inclusion in the Microsoft ClearType font collection. John Hudson, the designer of one of these fonts (Constantia), offers insights into the naming process:
“One of the Microsoft managers had the idea that all the CT [Vista] fonts should start with the letter C. I can’t recall all the names I thought of, each of which was rejected after international trademark searches. Microsoft probably spent more on lawyers doing trademark searches than on the typeface development! As I recall, the day before the final choice was rejected, I’d been singing some psalms during vespers, and noticed the word ‘constantia’. Hey, I thought, that starts with C!”
Users of Vista, Windows 7, MS Office 2007 for Windows, or MS Office 2008 for the Mac already have these fonts installed. If not, more information follows.
Here’s an overview of each of the “C” Vista fonts:
Calibri
As the new default font for MS Office apps, Calibri replaces the outdated Times New Roman with a softer, rounder sans-serif design. Its proportions allow for high impact in both large and small type. When anti-aliasing is applied, it is an attractive and reader-friendly font, but without it, Calibri can appear less appealing.
Cambria
One of the two serif fonts in the “C” collection, Cambria is designed for on-screen reading and small print. It is described as a robust, all-purpose text face, though it lacks certain elegance.
Candara
This sans-serif font includes decorative elements, making it less suitable for body text.
Consolas
Consolas is the only monospace font in the set and is as appealing as any monospaced font. It is designed by Lucas de Groot, who also created Calibri.
Constantia
Constantia, another serif font, is elegant without being overly ornate. It is clean, readable, and versatile, designed to work well in both print and electronic formats.
Corbel
Corbel, the final sans-serif font, is clean and readable but shares some design limitations with Cambria.
On mobile devices, the “C” fonts are described as “gorgeous” by advocate Alexander Turcic, who has provided examples of their use.
The Vista font collection also includes Segoe UI and Nyala, which are often overlooked in discussions of the collection.
Segoe UI
Segoe UI is a sans-serif font and part of the larger “Segoe” family. It is Microsoft’s designated system font, replacing Tahoma in most Windows displays. It is considered a beautiful font and is designed for use with ClearType.
Nyala
Nyala is a serif font included with Windows Vista and Windows 7, as well as Windows Server 8. It is designed to reference native Ethiopian typography and lettering.
Designing with Vista fonts, both the “C” collection and the two additional fonts, presents challenges, but they offer a fresh and different visual experience compared to traditional Web-safe fonts.
Market penetration for these fonts is growing, with a significant number of Windows users already having them installed. However, web designers should consider the limitations and compatibility issues when incorporating Vista fonts into their designs.
