Project 3 Research
Helvetica — Research
- Who designed it and when?
Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger (with input from Eduard Hoffmann) designed Helvetica in 1957.
2. What type classification does it fall under?
Helvetica is a sans-serif typeface.
3. Was it created for a specific purpose or context?
It was developed by the Haas’sche Schriftgiesserei (Haas Type Foundry). It was created to match a trend of the renaissance of the “grotesque” sans-serifs among European graphic designers. Haas wanted to compete with Akzidenz-Grotesk in the Swiss market.
4. Are there any specific uses of it that led to its popularity?
Its neutral typeface with clarity and no inherent meaning behind it led to its wide use, as it could be used in a variety of contexts. Helvetica is popular for commercial wordmarks, often used by the U.S. government, and widely used in transportation (NY subway system). Some notable companies that use it in their name are Microsoft, Target, and The North Face.
5. Are there any features that set it apart?
Helvetica has a high x-height and a tight spacing between letters which makes it look dense and compact. It is oblique, slanting slightly to the right, rather than italic. There are also wide capital letters of pretty uniform width, especially noticeable in the “E” and “F.” Some other notable characters are the square-looking “s” and the little difference between the upper-case “i” and lower-case “L”. The number “1” is also distinguishable with its bracketed top flag. Finally, Helvetica has tight, narrow apertures that limit onscreen and small font size readability.
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