Helvetica

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{{Infobox font | image = Image:Helvetica name.png | style = sans-serif | date = 1957 | creator = Max Miedinger | foundry = Haas’sche Schriftgiesserei | sample = Image:Helvetica sample.png |}}

Helvetica is a typeface developed by Max Miedinger in 1957 for the Haas’sche Schriftgiesserei type foundry of Switzerland. Its name is derived from Helvetia, the Roman name for Switzerland. The font is based on the earlier Akzidenz Grotesk typeface from around 1898. The typeface, originally titled Haas-Grotesk, is a very clean sans-serif face. The typeface became extremely popular in the 1960s, when it was widely used. In 1983, Linotype released the Helvetica Neue (German for “Helvetica New”) typeface, based on Helvetica.

Image:Arialhelvetica.png The typeface Arial, distributed with Microsoft Windows, has the same widths as Helvetica and very similar characters, and was essentially created as a cheaper unauthorized Helvetica clone, which has led to criticism of Microsoft, although in Arial subtle changes and variations have been made to both the letterforms and the spacing between characters, in order to make it more readable on screen and at various resolutions. However, most designers feel these changes have led to a font which looks very poor in print and it is rarely used in that context. One of the easiest ways to distinguish the two is their uppercase “R.” Another way is looking at the “tail” of the “a” (lower right). This is easily seen in the illustration. Another is the lowercase “e”; Helvetica cuts the lower hook straight across, while Arial cuts it at an angle.

Helvetica is a Trademark of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, which may be registered in certain jurisdictions, exclusively licensed through Linotype GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.

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Usage

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. Variants of the typeface are also used in the Canadian government’s corporate identity program.

Helvetica is also one of the default typefaces for the Mac OS system. The typeface Nimbus Sans (one of the default typefaces for GNU/Linux) is based on Helvetica, as is Bitstream’s Swiss 721 BT, which even bases its name on the same theme. Helvetica recently replaced Akzidenz Grotesk as the font used for the signs of the New York City Subway system.

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