The typeface formerly known as...

While I was doing research for my project on the history of typography I discovered a lot of interesting facts about the time period I picked. Originally, I picked the 1960s-1990's because I've always had an affinity for the 1960's (minus the racial segregation and assassinations). Since I was paired up with a partner, I decided to take the first fifteen years of our time period and my partner took the later half of the period. Hopefully most of us are familiar with the typeface, Helvetica, but who really knows about the history of how this typeface came to be so universally used.

^that's helvetica.

^that's helvetica being used for all the advertisements for American Apparel stores.

Once you realize what helvetica looks like, it's really hard not to notice where it's being used.

While I was immersing myself in the history of typography I learned that Helvetica was invented in a type foundry in Switzerland by Max Meidinger in 1957. It was originally called Neue Haas Grotesk, it's maker changed it's name to Helvetica, latin for Switzerland, so that it could be more attractive to international typographic markets. Helvetica was designed as a renovation of a grotesque typeface from the 17th century called Akzidenz Grotesk. Helvetica was considered the typeface for the modern age because of the balance of counter space and positive space in each letter.


In my opinion, Helvetica is just pretty to look at :)