Typography
By default, a font called Charcoal is used to replace the similar Chicago typeface that was used in earlier versions of the Mac OS. A number of additional system fonts are also provided including Capitals, Gadget, Sand, Techno, and Textile. In order to be a system font, glyphs specific to the Mac operating system need to be provided, such as the Command key symbol, ⌘. Normally system fonts are displayed at 12 points.
The Appearance Manager also applies anti-aliasing to type displayed on the screen above a certain size, by default 12 points. This improves the overall look of the text by reducing the perception of rasterization artifact. Anti-aliasing is adjustable in the Appearance Control Panel.
Read more about this topic: Appearance Manager