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When the US group Microsoft replaced the standard font Times New Roman with Calibri in its Word writing program in 2007, this shaped the image of many digital documents for more than a decade.

In the course of the coming year, the tech giant will be releasing a new version of the word processing program - for Windows and iOS computers.

For this, the world's largest software manufacturer wants to find a new design and thus also a new standard font.

But which one has what it takes to replace the sans serif font by the Dutch artist Lucas de Groot, who also designed the corporate fonts of the Spiegel, ARD, SPD and taz?

After all, the new one will be hated and loved as iconically as its predecessor.

Instead of relying on the expertise in their own company, Microsoft wants to leave the decision to someone else:

You have a say in which font Calibri should replace!

The group asks its users on Twitter: “We have to talk.

What should our next standard font be? ”There are no fewer than five fonts to choose from.

You can see what they look like in the body text in the tweet from Microsoft above.

The five potential Calibri successors are:

  • Bierstadt

    by designer Steve Matteson

  • Grandview

    designed by Aaron Bell

  • Tenorite

    created by Erin McLaughlin and Wei Huang

  • Seaford

    , a design by Thomas Frere-Jone, Nina Stössinger and Fred Shallcrass

  • Skeena

    , a creation by John Hudson and Paul Hanslow

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All fonts are sans serif.

This means that the letters in the typeface do not have a short, thin line at the end of a letter stroke that ends as a horizontal stroke transversely to its basic direction.

In long running texts with paragraphs, serifs usually make it easier for the human eye to read.

It is easier to follow the typeface and text content.

In short texts and sections, however, fonts without serifs are advantageous because they appear more clearly structured.

Extremely important in times of email communication.

Example of a serif

Source: WORLD Infographic

You can use social media to tell Microsoft which font is your favorite.

All five fonts are now available for download to try out.

The link also takes you to further information about the typographies and their designers.

Microsoft does not want to leave the choice to chance and therefore draws attention to what is really crucial for an ideal standard font:

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“A standard font is often the first impression we make.

It is the visual identity that we present to other people through our resumes, documents or emails.

And just as people and the world around us age and grow, so should our forms of expression. "

You can then use a comment on Twitter to help determine which font family Calibri should replace in the new Word.

A first full version should be available as a demo in January 2022 - then we will probably also know which font won the race.

Some Microsoft fonts are classically timeless, others have to fight a little for their image.

The Papyrus font can also be seen on the movie poster for "Avatar - Return to Pandora".

Source: pa / dpa / Jens Kalaene

While the new fonts are intended to be reminiscent of old street and train station signs in Germany (Grandview) or to be a sans serif homage to the classic Times New Roman (Tenorite), past creations in the Microsoft font collection can look back on a completely different fate.

Those who use Comic Sans, for example, are often ridiculed because the font is considered to be quite unaesthetic.

Source: WORLD Infographic

Concise typographies such as Bauhaus 93, Papyrus or Wingdings tend not to be used in a professional email or an application strip, but are considered cult.

Papyrus was used for the subtitles in the 2009 blockbuster film "Avatar" by director James Cameron.