After 50 years of the iconic Futura typeface, IKEA has made a switch to… Verdana? The 2010 IKEA catalog, now arriving at doorsteps around the world, reveals the company’s choice to change all typography to the Microsoft font that every web designer has grown to hate. Verdana, specifically designed for on-screen readability, first shipped with Internet Explorer 3 in 1996. Being one of the better looking 'core fonts for the web' a limited selection which also includes Arial, Comic Sans, and Times New Roman - Verdana has become one of the most widely used fonts on the web.
Before
After
The font will replace IKEA Sans and IKEA Serif. IKEA’s Ivana Hrdlickova says the main reason for the switch was to allow the company to use the same typeface in all countries as the current IKEA typefaces do not contain Asian characters. Being that Verdana was designed for the web, it also allows the company’s image to remain consistent online and in print.
As IKEA is one of the biggest icons of the last century it is no surprise that opinions are strong, so strong that some have even created an online petition "IKEA, please get rid of Verdana" which has already gathered over 3,000 signatures.
Source - Brand New, and various other sources across the web.
