Helvetica
Courtesy of University of Kansas Library database – WilsonWeb:
Online Resources:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_happened_in_the_year_1957
http://fontfeed.com/archives/helvetica-and-alternatives-to-helvetica/
http://www.fontco.com/helvetica.php
http://www.answers.com/topic/helvetica-1
Print Resources:
The Complete Typographer by Christopher Perfect. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1992. Upper Saddle River, NJ
Revival of the Fittest: Digital Versions of Classic Typefaces. Edited by Philip B. Meggs and Roy McKelvey. RC Publications, Inc. 2000. New York, NY.
Helvetica is a sans serif, often classified as a “neo-grotesque”. It has a large x-height, and short ascenders and descenders. The increased x-height, along with the face’s pronounced stroke weight, gives it a darker appearance in large bodies of text than other sans serifs. These characteristics add to its consistency in color and printing quality.
Max Miedinger was a Swiss typeface designer. He was born in Zurich on December 24th, 1910, and died on March 8th, 1980, also in Zurich. In 1957, he developed Helvetica. When Linotype adopted Neue Haas Grotesk (which was never planned to be a full range of mechanical and hot-metal typefaces) its design was reworked. After the success of Univers, Arthur Ritzel of Stempel redesigned Neue Haas Grotesk into a larger family. Helvetica was the only typeface used during the 1960s and 1970s in Switzerland. The font is based on the earlier Akzidenz Grotesk typeface from around 1898. Edouard Hoffman was the one who wanted to refine the Akzidenz Grotesk fonts into a new typeface, but Miedinger made the drawings and worked closely with Hoffman in the design of the face, therefore he is credited. In 1960, the typeface's name was changed by Haas' German parent company Stempel to Helvetica, in order to make it more marketable internationally. It was initially suggested that the type be called 'Helvetia' which is the original Latin name for Switzerland. Eduard Hoffmann ignored this as he decided it wouldn't be appropriate to name a type after a country. He then decided on 'Helvetica' as this meant 'Swiss' as opposed to 'Switzerland'. The aim of the new design was to create a neutral typeface that had great clarity, no intrinsic meaning in its form, and could be used on a wide variety of signage. In 1983, Linotype released the Helvetica Neue (German for "New Helvetica") typeface, based on Helvetica.
Helvetica soon took off as the typeface of choice for a new generation -- first as a favorite in advertising, then in 1985 becoming the choice of the masses. That was the year Apple introduced a Macintosh computer with Helvetica as one of its five fonts. Helvetica suddenly seemed the natural choice for a new century as well.
While Univers is acknowledged to be the most used Latin typeface in the world, Helvetica is widely used in countries such as France, the United Kingdom and the Nordic countries.
The typeface Arial, distributed with Microsoft Windows, has the same widths as Helvetica and almost identical characters, and was essentially created as a cheaper unauthorized Helvetica clone, which has lead to several criticisism towards Microsoft. One of the easiest ways to distinguish the two is their uppercase "R". Another way is looking at the "tail" of the a.
Hardworking Helvetica gets the message across. It may look like the name of a hard rock band, but the beauty of Helvetica is that metaphorically speaking, it hardly makes a sound. Helvetica is a typeface, or more appropriately, the typeface of the 20th century. And, surely, it is the only typeface ever to have its 50th birthday observed with a major museum exhibit and an award-winning independent film. [Side note: Andrea, I’m watching the documentary while writing this!] "Helvetica is really a standout," says Christian Larsen, curator of the exhibition on the history of Helvetica at New York's Museum of Modern Art. "It helped define the typographic look of the 20th century, and I think it is here to stay."
In 1957 in the United States…
Leave It To Beaver premiered, Sputnik was launched, Jackie Robinson retired, American Bandstand went national, Elvis Presley emerged as a star, and Dr. Suess (Theodore Geisel) wrote Cat In The Hat!
"Helvetica was introduced at a moment where postwar optimism was at its highest, at a time when -- pre-Vietnam, pre-Watergate -- people had real confidence in modernism and modern institutions to solve the world's problems," says Michael Bierut, a partner in Pentagram, a New York design firm. It was "a beautifully machined, rationally resolved, entirely modern typeface that seemed absolutely suited to its times." Not everyone is so generous, of course. In Lars Müller's book Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface, Wolfgang Weingart, a leader in experimental typography known as the father of "Swiss Punk," sniffed that anyone who uses Helvetica must know nothing about typefaces. He calls it "the epitome of ugliness."
Tom Geismar, a well-known New York designer, noted that Helvetica is "like a good screwdriver; a reliable, efficient, easy-to-use tool. But put it in the wrong hands, and it's potentially lethal."
But when it is used correctly, the beauty of any typeface, including Helvetica, is its ability to facilitate message delivery, its role as a mass communicator, an unseen persuader that helps readers understand both the message and the messenger. Like most typefaces, Helvetica "works its magic on an entirely subconscious level," says Bierut. "Its ubiquity and inherent authority are inescapable," he adds, noting that "if it's important to people's daily lives, it's largely without their knowledge or consent."
While it was designed to be "neutral" and "unbiased," Gary Hustwit, creator of the film Helvetica, noted in an E-mail -- typed in Helvetica -- that over 50 years, Helvetica has "picked up baggage." Because it's used by big business and government, "when we look at a word set in Helvetica, we pick up the subtle feelings of authority, efficiency, [and] permanence." In some ways, its overuse may have left it powerless to steer people correctly, making not just the typeface but also the message invisible to some eyes.
Helvetica’s Popular Uses:
Hundreds of firms set brand names in its strong, straight lines, from icons of stability like 3M, Microsoft, and Sears to upstart retailers like American Apparel. New York's signage, including that of its subway system, is set in Helvetica, as is virtually every lighted exit sign in every building in the country. The U.S. government is so sure of Helvetica's ability to lead that the typeface has become the default font for tax forms.
Warning messages on cigarette packs are set in Helvetica, notes Hustwit, but "although it clearly says, 'Smoking kills,' apparently people aren't understanding the message. Maybe if it was set in a scary, ugly typeface, people would get the point."
Helvetica is a popular choice for commercial wordmarks, including those for 3M, American Airlines, American Apparel, BMW, Jeep, JCPenney, Lufthansa, Microsoft, Mitsubishi Electric, Target, RE/MAX, Toyota, Panasonic, Motorola, Kawasaki and Verizon Wireless. Apple Inc. has used Helvetica widely in Mac OS X (as default font for sans-serif/Swiss generic font family), iOS (previously iPhone OS), and the iPod. Helvetica is widely used by the U.S. government; for example, federal income tax forms are set in Helvetica, and NASA uses the type on the Space Shuttle orbiter.[1] Helvetica is also used in the United States television rating system.
There are many reasons why Helvetica is so widespread. It is arguably the most respectable of the “default” fonts. But it’s also used because it’s a safe, neutral choice. For many purposes, typography is more about content than style. Helvetica, with its simple, unadorned forms, is the perfect crystal goblet. Even its ubiquity contributes to its neutrality — letters so common they become invisible.
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