Helvetica

"A vehicle for social conformity through consumerism"

Or universal clarity and enduring beauty for the modern business?

I was originally going to discuss SEO for websites as a follow-on from my previous blog, but as I can already sense the yawns and the mouse approaching the "next" button I decided to divert after a discussion with fellow colleagues regarding the Helvetica font. I was surprised at the passion that this simple font can evoke and therefore it had to be mentioned in our blog!

So what comes to mind when you think of Helvetica?
A vehicle for social conformity through consumerism?
Or universal clarity and enduring beauty for the modern business?

Let's start from the beginning!
Helvetica was created by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann at the Haas’sche Schriftgiesserei (Haas type foundry) of Münchenstein, Switzerland. Haas set out to design a new sans-serif typeface that could compete with Akzidenz-Grotesk in the Swiss market. Originally called Neue Haas Grotesk, it was created based on Schelter-Grotesk.
In 1960 the typeface's name was changed by Haas' German parent company Stempel to Helvetica — derived from Confoederatio Helvetica, the Latin name for Switzerland — in order to make it more marketable internationally.

Helvetica is without question a comprehensively diverse font and has undoubtedly helped shaped the landscape of twentieth century graphic design. From a branding point of view Helvetica's message is this: you are going to get to your destination on time; your plane will not crash; your money is safe in our vault; we will not break the package; the paperwork has been filled in; everything is going to be OK. Some might say that this is too safe and welcomes no creativity. But it is sans serif, there are no wiggly bits at the end of the letters. It has smooth, clean lines and an unobtrusive geometry that almost suggests it was designed not to stand out.
I would argue that if your brand is strong enough and design concepts are clear, then Helvetica would merely compliment your individual brand with clarity and enduring beauty.
After all, Helvetica is used by so many modern companies; one of the biggest corporate creative companies, Apple, use Helvetica as their standard font for leopard OSX, and few can argue they are not leaders for design within their many industries? So, really, is it all that bad!?

Lars Mueller, author of "Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface "was quoted as saying, "It has a modern attitude which lines up with the aesthetic premises of the 1950s and 60s".
And Frank Wildenberg, managing director of Linotype, the German firm that owns the font says, "It's durable. It comes from natural design forms. It doesn't have an expression of fashion. It has very clear lines and characters, it looks like a very serious typeface,"

Personally I have to agree with them. I think the font can work well in so many different forms; it is simple and beautifully formed, lending itself to many creative solutions. It is just important to use it right!

Famously, Neville Brody, for all his creativity, would not agree, and did indeed say "When people choose Helvetica they want to fit in and look normal. They use Helvetica because they want to be a member of the efficiency club. They want to be a member of modernism. They want to be a member of no personality. It also says bland, unadventurous, unambitious."

Well...
Last year was the 50th anniversary of Helvetica and in celebration the Helvetica Poster Contest was held. Take a look at our selected favourites from the competition, that we think have some personality!


Hey! and maybe go to our website imprentapronto.com to view what we do with and without Helvetica!

Keep creative,

James

Special Thanks to:
Helvetica NOW Poster Contest
BBC
AisleOne