Excel: There is a Font Optimized for Excel

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Problem: I am looking at numbers all day long. Is there a better font?

Strategy: Famous designer Erik Spiekermann released a font called Axel that he designed for on screen use in spreadsheets. Among the benefits of Axel:

  • Similar letters are clearly distinguishable. The zero is slashed to differentiate it from a capital O. The 1 has a suitable serif to differentiate it from a lower case L. I would not have to use Ctrl+One if this book were set in Axel!.
  • Legible on a monitor.
  • Looks good in a PDF or printed. Embeddable in PDF.
  • Many fractions, superscripts, subscripts.

  1. Axel is designed for Excel.