The first font family published by FontShop AG made its debut at TYPO Berlin 2009. The spreadsheet-friendly typeface was born out of Erik Spiekermann’s personal need for an economic and readable typeface optimized for use on screen, and a recognition that most users don’t use tables only for numbers, but also for text typically too long for their provided columns.
Narrow, but not “condensed”, Axel (pronounced “excel”) is meant to conserve space. Substantial contrast between bold and regular weights, easily distinguishable characters (l, I, i, 1, 7 etc.), and small capitals for emphasis, increase readability and visual hierarchy. The Axel family includes style linking and ClearType support, making it fully compatible with most office environments.