Helvetica Essay

877 Words4 Pages
Helvetica Helvetica is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann. They set out to design a new sans-serif typeface that could compete with the successful Akzidenz-Grotesk. The aim of the new design was to create a neutral typeface that had great clarity, no fundamental meaning in its form, and could be used on a wide variety of signage. Helvetica was designed in post-war Europe, and many companies were looking for a change. It was the opposite of all the kitschy, fancy, decorative typography that covered corporate materials and advertisements. Helvetica’s sleek lines and modern sensibilities were just what companies were looking for to remake their identities and set themselves apart from the past. Technically, Helvetica is a very interesting font. There are a few things that set it apart from many other sans serif fonts, and make it unique. Helvetica’s characters always have vertical or horizontal terminations on their strokes, never diagonal, Helvetica is as much about the negative space surrounding the letters than about the lines that make up the characters themselves, The negative space contained within the lowercase “a” closely resembles a teardrop, It has monotone stroke weights, It remains legible when in motion, one reason it’s popular for signage and automaker and airline logos. There have been a number of Helvetica variations created, including a number of language variants (Cyrillic, Korean, Hindi, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Greek) among them. Others variations include, Helvetica Light, Helvetica Compressed, Helvetica Inserat, Helvetica Textbook, Helvetica Rounded and Neue Helvetica Helvetia has been a success ever since it was released and claimed to “run away”. It soon became the typeface of signage world wide due to its easy accessibility and popularity. When
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