Tahoma
View Larger
You need JavaScript enabled and the latest version of Flash Player to see this type sample.Credits
- Classification
- Sans Serif, Humanist Sans
- Original Format
- Digital
- Distributor(s)
- Microsoft
- Tags
- 1990s, low resolution, microsoft, sans serif, screen
Background
Designed for the Microsoft Corporation in 1994 with initial distribution along with Verdana for Windows 95.
Tahoma was designed as a bitmap rather than an outline font. The bold weight was based upon a double pixel width, rendering it closer to a heavy or black weight.
Tahoma is the default screen font used by Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 (replacing MS Sans Serif) and is also used for Sega’s Dreamcast. Bundled in the font library of Windows, the typeface is widely used as an alternative to Arial.
The Tahoma typeface family was named after the Native American name for the stratovolcano Mount Rainier (Mount Tahoma) which is a prominent feature of the southern landscape around the Seattle metropolitan area.
JD Neos