Matthew Carter designed Verdana as a sans-serif font for Microsoft Corporation in 1996. The font was created as part of Microsoft’s Core fonts for the Web project, which aimed to develop a set of fonts that would display well on low-resolution computer screens of the time.
What Makes Verdana Stand Out?
Verdana’s design is optimized for screen display, with several features that make it highly readable and clear at small sizes and low resolutions. These features include a large x-height, wide proportions, loose letter-spacing, wide counters and apertures, distinctive shapes, and a thick bold weight.
A Brief History of Verdana Font
Verdana was named after the combination of the words “verdant” (meaning green) and Ana (the name of the eldest daughter of Microsoft’s typography group member who commissioned the font). Since its release, Verdana has been bundled with subsequent versions of Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer, as well as Mac OS X. It was also available for download from Microsoft’s website as freeware until 2002.Verdana became one of the most widely used fonts on the web, especially for body text and headings. It was praised for its clarity and legibility, but also criticized for its lack of elegance and originality.
In 2010, Carter and Rickner released Verdana Pro, an expanded version of Verdana. It added support for more languages, more weights, and more features such as small caps, ligatures, and fractions.
Where is Verdana Used?
Verdana is widely used for screen display, especially for web pages and user interfaces. It is suitable for body text and headings, as well as captions, labels, menus, buttons, and other elements. Verdana can also be used for print purposes, but it may look too wide and loose compared to other fonts.
Some examples of websites that use Verdana are:
- Wikipedia: Verdana is one of the default fonts for Wikipedia’s content.
- Amazon: Verdana is used for product titles, prices, ratings, reviews, and other information.
- Google: Verdana is used for some elements of Google’s homepage and search results.
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Similar Fonts
Some fonts that are similar to Verdana are:
- Tahoma: Carter and Rickner designed Tahoma for Microsoft. It has a similar design to Verdana, but with narrower proportions and tighter letter-spacing. It is also more suitable for print than Verdana.
- Bitstream Vera Sans: Bitstream Vera Sans is a font designed by Jim Lyles for Bitstream Inc. It is metrically compatible with Verdana, meaning it has the same character widths and spacing. It has a more rounded appearance than Verdana.
- DejaVu Sans: DejaVu Sans is a font based on Bitstream Vera Sans, but with more characters and languages supported. It is an open source font that is widely used in Linux and other platforms.
- Jost: Jost is a font inspired by Verdana, but with more geometric and modern shapes. It has a large x-height, wide proportions, and loose letter-spacing, but also some differences such as the “t” without a curve and the varying letter heights.
- Arimo: Arimo is a font designed by Steve Matteson for Google Fonts. It is very similar to Verdana, with only some minor differences in a few letters, such as the “j”, “a”, and “y”. It is intended to be a metrically compatible alternative to Arial.
Conclusion
Verdana is a highly readable and clear font optimized for screen displays. Its large X-height, wide proportions, and distinctive shapes make it a great choice for web pages and user interfaces. So, if you’re looking for a functional and aesthetically pleasing font, try Verdana today!
In addition, if you would like to download similar style fonts, you can try our other font offerings, like Crispy Tofu, Mamma Mia, Mardi Gras, and Cinzel font now!
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