Helvetica Turns 50

By Greg McNevin

May 11, 2007: Fonts may seem like just another formatting option for some, but as we live in a world that is becoming increasingly saturated with the printed word, fonts can make or break your message. This week, Helvetica marks its 50th year of subliminally influencing information.

The corporate world tends to turn to the safety of typefaces such as Helvetica (Arial in the electronic world). A streamlined, condensed and no-nonsense font, Helvetica’s minimalism enables large amounts of information to be squashed onto a page while retaining legibility and without taxing or alienating a reader.

It is this versatility and sheer architectural genius that has seen Helvetica pass its 50th birthday this week. Font design has been likened to the construction of buildings, and rightly so as it is only those with such outstanding build quality that endure.

According to BBC world, it was designed by Max Miedinger in 1957 and Eduard Hoffmann for the Haas Type Foundry, in Muenchenstein, Switzerland. Originally named Neue Haas Grotesk, it was re-branded Helvetica (stemming from Helvetia, the Latin name for Switzerland) when it was pitched internationally, fast becoming the font of choice for advertisers everywhere.

Typefaces used to have to be carved into steel for printing, making them expensive to produce and naturally few in number. In the electronic world, fonts are no longer exclusive in nature, with an unknown number being created on a daily basis.

Even with online publishing scant few end up enjoying wide use and distribution though, and even less will endure as Helvetica has.

When not appearing in emails, documents and advertising, the font is favoured by companies such as American Airlines, Evian, Intel, Lufthansa, Nestlé and Toyota. It has inspired documentaries, exhibitions and no small amount of hate mail from those who see it as a typeface of conformity and consumerism.

Like any great piece of architecture, Helvetica goes on. And it will continue being an integral part of the way we consume information for a long time to come.

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