---
title: "Calibri (2004) — Lucas de Groot"
description: "Calibri was designed by Lucas de Groot in 2004. What it signals, where you have seen it."
url: https://atoneplace.net/font/calibri/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Calibri

**Calibri: Lucas de Groot, 2004**

Sans-serif · A Word document from between 2007 and 2023.

Its rounded stem ends were drawn for ClearType subpixel rendering, which was new and which made soft edges look better than sharp ones on an LCD. Becoming the Office default in 2007 made it one of the most-set typefaces in history within a year. It featured in a Pakistani political scandal in 2017 when documents dated 2006 were found to be set in a typeface not commercially released until 2007.

## The facts

- **Designed by:** Lucas de Groot
- **Released:** 2004
- **Classification:** Sans-serif
- **What it signals now:** A Word document from between 2007 and 2023.

## Where you have seen it

- Microsoft Office's default from 2007 to 2023

## Other typefaces from the 2000s

| Typeface | Year | Designer | What it signals |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Gotham | 2000 | Tobias Frere-Jones | American, optimistic, competent. The 2008 Obama campaign and everything that copied it. |

> 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 Calibri?

Lucas de Groot, in 2004.

### What is Calibri used for?

A Word document from between 2007 and 2023. You will have seen it on Microsoft Office's default from 2007 to 2023.

## Related pages

- [Typefaces from the 2000s](https://atoneplace.net/font/decade/2000s/)
- [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/)