System Font (Segoe UI)
Segoe UI (pronounced "SEE-go") is the new Windows Vista® system font. It is designed specifically for user interfaces and is optimized for ClearType font technology.
With the introduction of Segoe UI, Microsoft® Windows® improves the consistency in how users see all text across all languages. The design of the Segoe UI letterforms is also tightly aligned with the Aero principles and design goals.
To license Segoe UI and other Microsoft fonts for distribution with a Windows-based program, contact .
New in Windows Vista
Segoe UI:
- Improves consistency in text styles across all languages.
- Is optimized for ClearType, which is on by default in Windows Vista. Segoe UI is less readable without ClearType enabled.
- Has the standard font size increased to 9 point to improve layout and readability for all languages.
- Has a new set of themed font styles that can be referenced through the Aero theme file.
- Has four styles (regular, bold, italic, and bold italic) and contains complete Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, and Arabic character sets.
There are new fonts—also optimized for ClearType—used by localized versions of Windows. These include Meiryo for Japanese, Malgun Gothic for Korean, Microsoft JhengHei for Chinese (Traditional), Microsoft YaHei for Chinese (Simplified). Although Hebrew and Thai localizations use older fonts, there are also ClearType optimized fonts, Gisha and Leelawadee, for these languages.
Why are these changes important?
The design of Segoe UI improves the reading and scanning of text, and takes advantage of ClearType technology. The overall approach to font size increase and font usage creates consistency across Windows and applications for a better experience in all languages.
