Georgia (typeface)

Georgia (typeface)

Georgia is a transitional serif typeface designed in 1993 by Matthew Carter and hinted by Tom Rickner for the Microsoft Corporation, as the serif companion to the first Microsoft sans serif screen font, Verdana. Microsoft released the initial version of the font on November 1, 1996 as part of the core fonts for the Web collection. Later, it was bundled with Internet Explorer 4.0 supplemental font pack.

Georgia is designed for clarity on a computer monitor even at small sizes, partially effective due to a large x-height. The typeface is named after a tabloid headline titled "Alien heads found in Georgia."

The Georgia typeface is similar to Times New Roman, but with many subtle differences: Georgia is larger than Times at the same point size, and has a greater x-height at the same actual size; Times New Roman is slightly narrower, with a more vertical axis; and Georgia's serifs are slightly wider and have blunter, flatter ends. Georgia incorporates influences from Clarendon-style typefaces, especially in b, r, j, and c (uppercase and lowercase). Figures (numerals) are an exception: Georgia uses text (old-style) figures whereas Times New Roman has lining figures.