Pixels to Print: Helvetica

The original Helvetica was designed in Switzerland in 1957 by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann at the Haas type foundry. Helvetica was originally called Die Neue Haas Grotesk, and was closely based on Schelter-Grotesk. Its design was intended to be a neutral typeface. The name changes to Helvetica in 1960 to make the font more marketable internationally. Originally it was proposed that the typeface be called Helvetia (Latin for Switzerland), but the designers didn’t want to name it after a country, and so it was called Helvetica instead (which is Latin for Swiss). Since its creation, variants of Helvetica have been created such as Helvetica Light, Helvetica Compressed, and Helvetica Rounded to name a few.

Helvetica’s rise to fame was due to companies wanting to change from fancy or decorative type that was common in collateral and advertisements. Helvetica was the modern option they were looking for.

Logos:Because Helvetica is so universal, plenty of companies have adopted Helvetica or its variations as their logo and be the face of their brand.

Quiz:Think you have the eye to spot the different between Helvetica and Arial? Take the quiz now: www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz