When IKEA recently mailed their annual catalog, eagle-eyed fans of the brand noticed something was a bit different compared to last year’s edition - and just about every other piece of IKEA branding ever produced. After 50 years, IKEA has replaced the iconic Futura-style IKEA Sans typeface with Verdana, a font designed for Microsoft in 1996. Typophiles were shocked (shocked!) IKEA, a company that built its brand with forward-thinking design, would choose what they felt was an inferior typeface.

The anti-Verdana group voiced their displeasure on blogs and on Twitter, while some cracked jokes elsewhere. There is even an online petition (serious business) that has received over 3000 signatures.

IKEA spokeswoman Camilla Meiby says, “Verdana is a simple, cost-effective font which works well in all media and languages,” something I guess they weren’t able to do with IKEA Sans. Verdana has an advantage over IKEA Sans in that it is designed specifically to be read on computer screens. With that in mind, maybe this move is a signal that IKEA will ramp up its digital marketing efforts, both on the web and with mobile phones, and perhaps Verdana is more practical than IKEA Sans in accomplishing those goals.

In a similar rebranding move, when Tropicana changed their packaging last winter, complaints from customers they deemed too loyal to upset forced them to switch back in a well-publicized debacle. IKEA, on the other hand, is brushing off the initial criticism by saying they “don’t think the broad public is that interested” in the typeface switch. For their sake, I hope they are right, and I hope the switch doesn’t cause more harm than good in the long run.

via idsgn