Font story: simple Helvetica for beauty

Helvetica
It is one of the most popular fonts in the world. Technically speaking, it belongs to the unlined grotesque font, designed based on Berthold in 1898
Akzidenz-Grotesk font. In reality, it is favored by designers from all over the world. It has won numerous awards, MoMA
) Is
It has done topics
,
Someone made a documentary for it.
This article describes Helvetica.
The History, status quo, and why it is so popular.

A Brief History of Helvetica

 

Helvetica
Designed by Haas font foundry in Switzerland in 1957, Hass is affiliated with Stempel
Stempel is affiliated with Linotype.

Helvetica was initially called Die neue Haas Grotesk, based on schelter-Grotesk
Font, which is designed to be neutral and does not contain human impressions. Neutral is an important idea in font design. That is to say, the font itself should not contain any meaning.

Helvetica example

In 1960, the marketing director of Stempel decided to name the font Helvetia (Swiss name Switzerland
And then changed to Helvetica (Swiss's Latin ).

Helvetica Variant

Helvetica has multiple variants, including multiple language variants (Cyrillic, Korean, Hindi, Japanese,
Vietnamese, and Greek ):

• Helvetica light-Erich Schultz-Anker and Arthur, art director of Stempel
  Ritzel design.
• Helvetica compressed-designed by Matthew Carter, this variant is similar to Helvetica inserat
  But it is slightly different.
• Helvetica textbook-several letters are slightly different.
• Helvetica rounded-designed in 1978, with the rounded corner at the top of the stroke.
• Neue Helvetica-designed in 1983, the width and height between fonts are more unified in structure.

 

Increasing popularity

Helvetica
Designed in post-war Europe, many companies were looking for changes, in stark contrast to the fancy fonts filled with decoration and advertising media. Helvetica
The straight lines and the modern sense are just a microcosm of those companies that want to be Maverick. Helvetica has therefore been given the significance of corporate culture.

 

Comparison with Arial

Designed for Arial and Helvetica in 1982
They are very similar. In the opinion of non-professionals, they do not even know the difference, but there are obvious differences in some specific letters, such as G, R, R, T, A, and 3. In I love
The typography website has a Helvetica
Detailed comparison table with Arial
.

Helvetica is more refined than Arial, although the two have the same character width. A difference between them is represented in the strokes of each letter, Helvetica
The stroke ends horizontally and vertically, while Arial uses diagonal lines.

Ironic
Sans
There is a test to test your ability to identify Helvetica and Arial. They are named 20 by helcetica
The original design, and later changed to the famous logo designed by Arial for your comparison.

 

Helvetica technical details

Technically, Helvetica is a very interesting font. The following are the technical details about it:

• The strokes of Helvetica always end horizontally or vertically.
• The area surrounded by Helvetica letters is the same as that occupied by strokes.
• The area surrounded by the Helvetica letter "a" is like a tear.
• Helvetica is the width of a single stroke.
• The Helvetica font remains clear in motion, which is why it is widely used in indicator marks, automotive and aviation signs.

 

Designing with Helvetica

Helvetica is most commendable in its neutral nature. It was designed to leave no impression or meaning. For this reason, Helvetica is suitable for various design scenarios. In addition, it is still
Web security font.

If you want to find a font between traditional and modern, conservative and cutting-edge, elegant and arrogant, Helvetica is what you want. Helvetica is an unlined font
It can be listed as a modern font, but its conciseness makes it suitable for traditional design. Thanks to its clear features, Helvetica is ideal for designing indicator marks, which many companies have designed as logos.

Another feature of Helvetica is its "security". If you do not know the impact of the fonts you use, Helvetica
It is always an option that can be used boldly. However, for this reason, the Helvetica-based design has become a cutting-edge design.

 

Helvetica Design Example

 

One of a series of vintage-looking covers for social media sites
(Available as posters ).

 

The NYC subway system's signs and map were changed to Helvetica
In the 1970 s by Massimo vignelli.

 

U. S. Government forms all use Helvetica.

 

Helvetica looks neutral yet refined when cut from copper (just
Ignore the Comic Sans flyer below ).

 

The "Love happens" cover is in Helvetica; the other is (probably)
In Arial.

 

Helvetica is neutral enough that it works even on signs that
Wocould normally use a more traditional font.

 

The commemorative moleskine notebooks created for Helvetica.

 

Helvetica light.

 

Another church sign in Helvetica.

 

Target has one of the more recognizable Helvetica logos.

 

Fox's TV show "fringe" uses Helvetica on their on-screen titles.
It remains legible even at odd angles.

 

Another image from the NYC subway.

 

NYC is not the only city to use Helvetica for transportation
Signs.

 

A tattoo in Helvetica.

 

A very early Advertisement Using Helvetica and dating to 1959.

 

Another vintage advertisement; the Motorola logo was in
Helvetica, along with the headline.

 

Additional reading

• Word
  Body story
  : Comic Sans
• Word
  Body story
  Interview with Museo font designers
• Word
  Body story
  Comic Sans
• Font story
  Note: Arial is everywhere.
• Word
  Body story
  : & A Brief History and Its Application in Design

International Source: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2010/01/the-simplicity-of-helvetica/

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