---
title: "Aptos (2023) — Steve Matteson"
description: "Aptos was designed by Steve Matteson in 2023. What it signals, where you have seen it."
url: https://atoneplace.net/font/aptos/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Aptos

**Aptos: Steve Matteson, 2023**

Sans-serif · A Word document written after 2023.

Replaced Calibri as the Office default in 2023 after fifteen years, following a public process in which Microsoft commissioned five candidate typefaces and asked people which they preferred. It was originally called Bierstadt, after a Colorado mountain, and was renamed to a California coastal town. Its arrival means documents can now be dated by their default typeface with reasonable confidence.

## The facts

- **Designed by:** Steve Matteson
- **Released:** 2023
- **Classification:** Sans-serif
- **What it signals now:** A Word document written after 2023.

## Where you have seen it

- Microsoft Office's default, replacing Calibri

> This page describes the typeface rather than showing it. Displaying a specimen requires a licensed font file and almost none of these may be redistributed, so the descriptions name the letters to look at instead.

## Common questions

### Who designed Aptos?

Steve Matteson, in 2023.

### What is Aptos used for?

A Word document written after 2023. You will have seen it on Microsoft Office's default, replacing Calibri.

## Related pages

- [Typefaces from the 2020s](https://atoneplace.net/font/decade/2020s/)
- [Akzidenz-Grotesk](https://atoneplace.net/font/akzidenz-grotesk/)
- [Franklin Gothic](https://atoneplace.net/font/franklin-gothic/)
- [Johnston](https://atoneplace.net/font/johnston/)
- [Futura](https://atoneplace.net/font/futura/)
- [Gill Sans](https://atoneplace.net/font/gill-sans/)
- [Helvetica](https://atoneplace.net/font/helvetica/)
- [Univers](https://atoneplace.net/font/univers/)
- [Optima](https://atoneplace.net/font/optima/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)