[upd] | Tahoma Italic

But it is .

.retro-italic { font-family: 'Tahoma', 'Segoe UI', 'Geneva', sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 11px; /* The sacred pixel size */ letter-spacing: 0px; text-rendering: geometricPrecision; /* To preserve that jagged edge */ } Slap that on a modal dialog box. Put it on a tooltip. Use it for a caption that you want to feel slightly off, slightly human. tahoma italic

But today, I want to talk about its shadow. Its elusive, slightly awkward, fiercely practical cousin. But it is

Look closely at a capital “Q.” Tahoma’s tail starts inside the bowl. Look at the “a”—it is a double-story design (like a printed book) rather than a single-story one (like handwriting). This gives Tahoma a serious, architectural feel. Use it for a caption that you want

But the regular weight is boring. It is the office manager of fonts: efficient, reliable, and forgettable.

If you are reading this on a Windows machine, there is a good chance you have ignored Tahoma for the better part of two decades. You have scrolled past it in dropdown menus. You have seen it power the tabs of your old Internet Explorer. You have watched it render the system dialogs of Windows 2000, XP, and Vista—dutiful, clean, and utterly invisible.

But it is .

.retro-italic { font-family: 'Tahoma', 'Segoe UI', 'Geneva', sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 11px; /* The sacred pixel size */ letter-spacing: 0px; text-rendering: geometricPrecision; /* To preserve that jagged edge */ } Slap that on a modal dialog box. Put it on a tooltip. Use it for a caption that you want to feel slightly off, slightly human.

But today, I want to talk about its shadow. Its elusive, slightly awkward, fiercely practical cousin.

Look closely at a capital “Q.” Tahoma’s tail starts inside the bowl. Look at the “a”—it is a double-story design (like a printed book) rather than a single-story one (like handwriting). This gives Tahoma a serious, architectural feel.

But the regular weight is boring. It is the office manager of fonts: efficient, reliable, and forgettable.

If you are reading this on a Windows machine, there is a good chance you have ignored Tahoma for the better part of two decades. You have scrolled past it in dropdown menus. You have seen it power the tabs of your old Internet Explorer. You have watched it render the system dialogs of Windows 2000, XP, and Vista—dutiful, clean, and utterly invisible.