“50 years young!” I keep telling my wife who, like Helvetica, is celebrating (my word, not hers) a half-century this year. And both, in my eyes, have managed to retain a fresh and modern look that shows no sign of decline. Oh how I love the flow of those lovely curves and that cute little tail…on the “a”, the well-formed ascenders and the sexy descenders...
Helvetica is indeed 50 years old and MoMA has marked the occasion with an exhibition in the third floor Philip Johnson Architecture and Design Galleries, called 50 Years of Helvetica. Furthermore, MoMA acquired an original set of 36-point lead Helvetica letterforms, the first typeset in its collection. I have to admit that it was pure chance that we spotted the Helvetica exhibition as we make it a habit to always drop into the Architecture and Design galleries to see what’s new.
First introduced in 1957 under its original name, Neue Haas Grotesk, Helvetica was conceived by Edouard Hoffmann, director of the Haas Type Foundry in Switzerland, as an updated version of Akzidenz Grotesk, a late 19th-century sans serif typeface. Hoffmann commissioned little-known typography designer Max Miedinger, to create the new font. The typeface did not gain immediate popularity. In 1961, Haas's parent company, Mergenthaler Linotype, decided to market Neue Haas Grotesk internationally and to change its name to one that would be more memorable in English and so they chose Helvetica as a more accessible and easily pronounceable version of Helvetia, the Latin word for Switzerland.
In no time at all, Helvetica soon became the typeface of choice for anyone who wanted to project a modern contemporary image. Christian Larsen, curator of the MoMA exhibition put it this way: "Helvetica delivers a message quickly and efficiently without imposing itself. When reading it, one hardly notices the letterforms, only the meaning, it's that well designed. It's crisp, clean and sharply legible, yet humanized by round, soft strokes. Many type designers have said that they can not improve on it."
Consider the following list of companies that use Helvetica for their brand names and I think you’ll understand how ubiquitous this font has become: 3M, AA, AGFA, American Apparel, Amtrak, BASF, BMW, Comme des Garçons, Crate & Barrel, Evian, Fendi, Greyhound, Intel, JEEP, Kartell, Knoll, Lufthansa, Microsoft, Mitsubishi Electric, Muji, NYC subway map, Nestlé, Olympus, Panasonic, Parmalat, Saab Automobile, Sears, Staples, Toyota, Samsung, Seagate, Target, Texaco. This list is no doubt incomplete but does support the opinion of some observers that Helvetica was the “official typeface of the 20th century.”
Mac lover that I am, I can’t resist pointing out that Helvetica is and always has been the default font for Mac OS. I also can’t resist pointing out that that other company, the one that dominates the market, uses Arial as its default font (but Helvetica for its brand name). Most computer users, both Mac and PC, are constantly exposed to Arial as a consequence of Microsoft’s overwhelming dominance of the market. However, according to graphic designer Mark Simonson, "Arial has a rather dubious history and not much character. In fact, Arial is little more than a shameless impostor." In the early 1980’s, Adobe developed Postscript page description language and included Helvetica as one of the fonts they licensed from the original foundries (the others were Times, Courier and Symbol). In the late 80’s, Microsoft developed TrueImage and Apple developed TrueType as page description languages that would compete with Adobe’s. However, while Apple went with Helvetica and paid the foundry license fee, Microsoft opted for the much cheaper knockoff, Arial. Arial had been developed by Monotype and was a loose adaptation of the existing Grotesque series of fonts. Grotesque had been redrawn to match the weight and proportions of Helvetica. To the untrained eye, the difference was difficult to spot.
Here are the key differences between Arial and Helvetica (from Mark Simonson’s article How To Spot Arial):
Now when is the last time you saw a film about typography? Well I never have but the 50th anniversary of Helvetica is the perfect excuse would you not agree? Helvetica is here! A documentary by Gary Hustwit, Helvetica is currently doing the rounds of international film festivals and is being well recieved. Soon to be out on DVD, Helvetica should cement this venerable font's rightful place in the history of graphic design.
I hope you have noticed by now that this blog uses Helvetica. I have to admit though that most of my word processing to date has been in Arial. I guess Arial, like a weed, has spread not on its merits but rather as a parasite clinging to Microsoft products. Well I've fixed that and changed all the default font options to the real thing...long live Helvetica!
Joseph Froncioni
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