Verdana

For other uses, see Verdana (disambiguation).
Verdana
CategorySans-serif
ClassificationModern Humanist
Designer(s)Matthew Carter
FoundryMicrosoft, Font Bureau (Verdana Pro)
Date released1996
Design based onTahoma
VariationsMeiryo
MS Reference Sans Serif
Nina
Verdana Pro
Verdana Ref
Metrically compatible withBitstream Vera Sans
DejaVu Sans

Verdana is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Matthew Carter for Microsoft Corporation, with hand-hinting done by Thomas Rickner, then at Monotype. Demand for such a typeface was recognized by Virginia Howlett of Microsoft's typography group and commissioned by Steve Ballmer.[1][2] The name "Verdana" is derived from "verdant" (green) and "Ana" (the name of Howlett's eldest daughter).[3]

Bearing similarities to humanist sans-serif typefaces such as Frutiger, Verdana was designed to be readable at small sizes on the low-resolution computer screens of the period.[4] Like many designs of this type, Verdana has a large x-height (tall lower-case characters), with wider proportions and looser letter-spacing than on print-orientated designs like Helvetica. The counters and apertures are wide, to keep strokes clearly separate from one another, and similarly shaped letters are designed to appear clearly different to increase legibility for body text. The bold weight is thicker than would be normal with fonts for print use, suiting the limitations of onscreen display.[5] Carter has described spacing as an area he particularly worked on during the design process.[6]

  1. ^ Re, Margaret, ed. (2003). Typographically Speaking: The Art of Matthew Carter (2. ed.). New York: Princeton Architectural. pp. 41–2. ISBN 9781568984278. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Apple updates iBooks with new book fonts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Interview with Virginia Howlett, mother of Verdana". Dmxzone.com. 2004-06-24. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  4. ^ Will-Harris, Daniel (2003). "Georgia & Verdana - Typefaces designed for the screen (finally)". Archived from the original on 28 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Matthew Carter MyFonts interview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Drucker, Johanna (2003). "Typographic Intelligence". In Re, Margaret (ed.). Typographically Speaking: The Art of Matthew Carter (2. ed.). New York: Princeton Architectural. p. 12. ISBN 9781568984278. Retrieved 26 March 2016.