Myriad (typeface)

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Myriad is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Robert Slimbach and Carol Twombly for Adobe, first released in 1992. It was meant to be a neutral, versatile font that could be expanded to many weights and widths using computer-aided design. Myriad is known for its friendly, open letter shapes and a true italic based on handwriting. Distinctive features include a downturned “y” tail, a slanted “e” cut, a single-storey “g,” and an “M” with sloped sides. It was designed with body text in mind and includes both text figures and lining figures.

The font family has several variants and formats:
- Early releases used the Multiple Master format, which allowed fine-tuning of weight and width, but the format had limited third-party support. This concept evolved into OpenType variable fonts.
- Type 1 versions followed, with a small set of fonts and weights.
- Myriad Web offered TrueType versions optimized for on-screen use.
- Myriad Pro (OpenType, 2000) expanded language support (Latin Extended, Greek, Cyrillic) and added more weights. It later gained a semi-condensed width.
- Myriad Web Pro and Myriad Sketch/Tilt (Type 1) added screen-friendly and stylized variations.
- Myriad CAD/Currency and Myriad Currency are specialized embedded fonts in Adobe products.

Apple’s use of Myriad
- Myriad Apple became Apple’s corporate font in 2002, later replaced by Myriad Set and then expanded to Myriad Set Pro.
- Apple eventually switched to the San Francisco family in 2017.

Language and regional variants
- Myriad includes Arabic and Hebrew versions designed with outside expertise; Hebrew is a large family with multiple weights and italic styles.
- Other adaptations include Kozuka Gothic (Latin letters adapted from Myriad) and Myriad Heiti for simplified Chinese.

Recognition and influence
- Myriad Pro Greek won a Type Directors Club award in 2000 (Text/Display category), and the broader family has influenced other sans-serifs such as Segoe UI and Corbel.

In short, Myriad is Adobe’s adaptable, humanist sans-serif created for broad use, famous for its Apple-era corporate role, distinctive letterforms, and its evolution from Multiple Master technology to modern OpenType fonts.