IKEA has moved from Futura to Verdana. After 50 years of Futura, which in my opinion, is one of the greatest typefaces (perhaps even a notch above Helvetica – blasphemy, I know), IKEA is moving to Verdana.

It’s not that Verdana is a bad face. This website uses Verdana (though I was considering changing that in the future). In fact, I think it’s quite well designed for on screen use. In print, however, it’s fairly boring, and looks unfinished to me. Large sizes are particularly poor.

Futura, on the other hand, is smooth and classic, almost timeless. Kristen and I have decided on it for our wedding typeface (shhh! Don’t tell her I spilled the beans). There’s also something distinctly IKEA-like about it’s European simplicity, which reflects the products IKEA carries.