You open a fresh document. You start typing. You probably don’t even think about the letters appearing on the screen until they look... off. Maybe they're too bubbly. Maybe they're too sharp. For over fifteen years, that "off" feeling was usually aimed at Calibri. Before that, it was the stiff, typewriter-adjacent Times New Roman. Now, we’ve landed on Aptos. It's a weirdly personal thing, isn't it? The default font Microsoft Word selects for you basically dictates the "vibe" of your entire professional life. If you're a lawyer, Aptos feels like wearing sneakers with a suit. If you're a creative, it feels like a cubicle.
Most people think the default is just some random choice made by a coder in Redmond. It's actually a massive, multi-million dollar branding exercise. Microsoft doesn't just pick a font; they commission a psychological profile for your documents.
The move to Aptos: Why Calibri finally got the boot
Let's be real: Calibri was tired. It arrived in 2007 with Office2007, replacing the venerable Times New Roman. At the time, it was revolutionary because it was designed for "ClearType" display—meaning it looked good on those bulky LCD monitors we all used back then. But high-resolution displays changed the game. Calibri started looking a bit dated, a bit "standard corporate memo."
In 2021, Microsoft decided it was time for a change. They didn't just pick one replacement; they staged a public bake-off. They released five new contenders: Tenorite, Bierstadt, Skeena, Seaford, and Grandview.
Bierstadt won.
But Microsoft, being Microsoft, renamed it Aptos before making it the official default font Microsoft Word uses globally. Created by Steve Matteson—the guy who literally designed Segoe (the Windows system font)—Aptos is a "sans-serif" typeface inspired by mid-20th-century Swiss typography. It’s meant to be invisible. It’s meant to be professional without being stuffy.
If you hate it, you aren't alone. Transitioning millions of users to a new typeface is like changing the flavor of the world's water supply. Some people find it too "techy." Others miss the softer corners of Calibri. Honestly, the biggest shock for most users wasn't the shape of the 'g' or the 'a,' but the way the line spacing changed. Aptos breathes more. It makes your one-page resume suddenly spill onto a second page, which is enough to make anyone want to throw their laptop out a window.
The history of your screen: From Times New Roman to now
We have to go back to 1992. That’s when the default font Microsoft Word became Times New Roman. Before that, it was actually a font called Courier—literally a typewriter font.
Times New Roman was the king for 15 years. It was the standard for academic papers, legal briefs, and basically every school essay ever written. It looked like a newspaper. It felt authoritative. But it was designed for print. Those little "feet" on the letters (serifs) help the eye travel across a printed page, but on a low-res 90s computer screen? They looked like digital jagged teeth.
When the switch to Calibri happened in 2007, people lost their minds. "It looks like a comic book!" critics yelled. "It's not professional!"
History repeats itself. Every time the default font Microsoft Word shifts, we go through the five stages of grief.
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- Denial: "Why does my text look weird? Did I hit a setting?"
- Anger: "I have to change this to Times New Roman every single time!"
- Bargaining: "Maybe if I just use Arial, nobody will notice."
- Depression: "I guess I'm an Aptos person now. This is my life."
- Acceptance: Eventually, you forget anything else ever existed.
How to permanently change your default font (And why it matters)
You shouldn't have to manually change your font every time you hit Ctrl+N. That’s a waste of your life. If you're a die-hard Times New Roman fan or a Helvetica snob, you can force Word to obey your preferences.
The "Normal.dotm" template is the soul of your Microsoft Word experience. It’s the master file that tells every new document how to behave. If you want to change the default font Microsoft Word opens with, you have to talk to the Font Dialog box.
Don't just change the font in the ribbon at the top. That only changes it for the current document. Instead, press Ctrl+D (or Cmd+D on Mac). This opens the deep font settings. Pick your favorite—say, Georgia or Garamond. Choose your size. Then, look at the bottom left of that window. You’ll see a button that says "Set As Default."
When you click it, Word will ask if you want to change it for "This document only" or "All documents based on the Normal template." Choose the latter.
Boom. You’ve just performed a digital lobotomy on Word. From now on, it’s your world.
Why fonts look different on Mac vs. PC
Ever sent a document to a colleague and had them complain that the formatting is "all messed up"? This usually happens because of font substitution. If you use a fancy font that isn't a default font Microsoft Word installs on every machine, Word will just guess what should go there. It usually guesses wrong.
Aptos, Calibri, and Arial are "safe" because they are bundled with the software. If you use something like "Futura Extra Bold" that you downloaded from a random site, your recipient's computer might swap it for Courier New. It’s a disaster for branding. If you must use a non-standard font, embed it in the file. Go to File > Options > Save and check the box that says "Embed fonts in the file." It makes the file bigger, but it saves your reputation.
The hidden psychology of what you type
Does the default font Microsoft Word uses actually change how people read your work? Yes. Absolutely.
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A study by Errol Morris for the New York Times found that readers were more likely to believe a statement was true if it was written in Baskerville compared to fonts like Comic Sans or even Helvetica. Serifs (the little feet) convey truth and tradition. Sans-serifs (the clean lines of Aptos and Calibri) convey modernism and efficiency.
If you're writing a letter of resignation, Aptos is fine. It’s clean. It says, "I am a professional leaving this tech-forward company." But if you're writing a formal apology or a deep philosophical treatise, you might want to switch back to something with a bit more gravity.
- Aptos/Calibri: Modern, fast, digital-first.
- Times New Roman/Garamond: Trustworthy, academic, "old-school" authority.
- Arial: Neutral, arguably boring, but safe for everyone.
Microsoft chose Aptos because it’s a "humanist" sans-serif. It has slightly more organic shapes than something like Helvetica, which can feel cold and robotic. They want you to feel comfortable spending eight hours a day staring at their software.
Dealing with the "Line Spacing" headache
When Aptos became the default font Microsoft Word uses, it brought a friend: 1.1 line spacing and 8pt of space after paragraphs.
This is the real reason your old documents look weird now. Microsoft decided that we all need more "white space" to reduce eye strain. If you hate it—if you want that tight, single-spaced look of the 90s—you have to change your Paragraph settings the same way you changed your font settings. Use the "Set as Default" trick in the Paragraph dialog box.
Honestly, though? Give the extra space a chance. Our eyes are tired. We’re all staring at screens too much. That extra sliver of white between the lines of your "Update on the Q3 Marketing Budget" memo might actually prevent a headache.
Practical steps to take right now
Stop fighting with your software. If you find yourself highlighting all your text and clicking "Times New Roman" every morning, you're doing it wrong.
- Audit your needs. Are you writing mostly for screens (Aptos/Calibri) or for print (Times New Roman/Georgia)?
- Update your Normal template. Open Word, press Ctrl+D, select your preferred font, and click "Set as Default" for all documents.
- Check your Styles. If you use Headings (H1, H2, etc.), remember that the default font Microsoft Word uses for headings might still be Aptos even if you changed the body text. You’ll need to right-click each Style in the "Styles" gallery and select "Update to Match Selection" or "Modify" to keep things consistent.
- Embed your fonts. If you're sending a resume as a Word doc (though you should really use a PDF), make sure your fonts are embedded so the recruiter sees exactly what you intended.
Microsoft will probably change the default again in 2035. By then, we’ll probably be typing in 3D holographic space, and we'll all be complaining that the "default holographic shimmer" isn't as good as the "classic Aptos glow." Until then, take control of your document's DNA. Your eyes—and your readers—will thank you.