Have You Not Seen This Typeface Yet?
I was in Stockholm two weeks ago and I could see that Helvetica™ was splashed everywhere around the place there too, just like here in Paris. For those who are not quite aware of how present Helvetica is in Paris, here is its look as it appears in its light version on Linotype web site:
More obvious, the French will go here and see what I am talking about. The plane lovers will have a look at American Airlines, Lufthansa or Bombardier Aerospace – and I’ve just found Air France on-board magazine whose title (magazine, funly enough) and article look like it too*.
Helvetica was designed by Max Medinger in 1956 – though A Type Primer by John Kane mentions 1954 – and has become one of the most used typefaces since then. Quite easy to spot thanks to its typical ‘a’ and ‘Q’ as well as spot on the ‘i’, I came across it in Stockholm quite a few times: on ads for banks, mobile phones, clothes… Anything really. A bit like here: this morning I was wandering around in La Défense and realised the signage was typeset in Helvetica.
Even though Helvetica is used a lot, the general opinion about it is quite similar to the one given by Pelle Anderson from A4 quoting one of his interviewees answering to the question “If you had to live with only one typeface till the rest of your life, which one would you choose?”:
En annan av de tillfrågade kommenterade att om han tvingades att bara använda Helvetica skulla han begå självmord. Ändå är Times och Helvetica världens mest använda typsnitt, synbarligen utan självmordensepidemier bland formgivare.
“Another interviewee replied that if he were to use only Helvetica, he would commit suicide. Although Times and Helvetica are the most used typefaces, there’s obviously no suicide epidemy amongst the designers.”
Typographers usually don’t like Helvetica. Too big a counter, too high a x-height, I guess. But the biggest problem of Helvetica is its use. It is everywhere you look and it tends to become a bit boring – just like its competitor, Arial. How come, then, even though people all say it’s used far too much it still appears every now and then? Well, the letterforms are plain and don’t convey any significant feeling and that’s why it’s used and in any field. It lacks of real identity and therefore corresponds to any. I’m pretty sure as Christmas is approaching that brand new ads will appear – showing one more time Helvetica’s success.¶
* I’m still no expert and I might be wrong. I’m just trying to learn on my own by reading books and observing…
