The typeface debate: an on-going argument amongst the design industry. The fiercest of them would have to be the Helvetica debate. Is the hype around the typeface justified? There are many designers and typographers out there that loathe the overuse and reliance that society has on it. Having said that I should make it clear that I am on the Helvetica team. Imagine if the relied upon and commonly used typeface was something like Papyrus or Myriad. These are two of my most disliked typefaces, although it might be unfair to classify Papyrus as type. It only ever seems to serve one purpose; to be the face of natural medicine or therapy.
That brings me to the default font. It is always disappointing when you first type something into Adobe and it gets set in Myriad.
Helvetica- Latin for Swiss, was designed in 1957 by Max Miedinger. It was originally titled Neue Haas Grotesk and was based on Akzidenz Grotesk (1896).
Helvetica is more anonymous in its features, like other typefaces of this time, Univers, Frutiger and Folio. All of these typefaces have helped define what we know as “Swiss Style”. Lars Muller described Helvetica as “the shift worker and solo entertainer.”
Helvetica can be defined as the easy way out, the boring, the mundane, and the predictable option. However its perfection allows it to become invisible and serve the purpose as an honest, fair and functional typeface.
The semiotics of typography is very relevant when selecting a typeface. There are many opportunities that can arise from using Helvetica, however I do not think designers should limit themselves to an arsenal full of it. Different occasions call for different typeface choice.
Pistilli Roman designed by John Pistilli and Herb Lubalin is an amazing typeface that has gone out of production as it was originally designed for a typositer, which is now outdated technology. It is curvy and in my opinion has one of the most beautiful ampersands ever created. Other similar typefaces in the Didone style include; Didoni, Carousel, Annlie and the new digitally available Eloquent.
Some typefaces that are currently being used at Motherbird include; Helvetica, Akzidenz Grotesk, Simple, Knockout, Clarendon, Bodoni, Mrs Eaves, Gridnik and Eloquent.
Jack Mussett is a Creative Director at Melbourne based design studio, Motherbird.
res graphics says at: July 19, 2010 at 11:54 am
Myriad Pro, Helvetica Neue and my own handwriting.
JR says at: July 19, 2010 at 12:02 pm
i’m secretly hoping for a comic sans revival myself.
PD says at: July 19, 2010 at 12:10 pm
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/322/322398.html
Brendan McKnight says at: July 19, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Ha! Funny you should mention that JR – I just asked font legend Stephen Banham about a comic sans revival for an interview in Desktop’s August issue! (not out yet).
Perhaps we should launch a campaign!
Matthew Smith says at: July 19, 2010 at 12:26 pm
I hope we are talking about body text here, do we have to put rules on type. I don’t use Helvetica myself but the common replacement is Arial. This is simply because everyone has it and the home user wants a page that looks exactly the same when they want to modify the document themselves in mundane programs such as Word and Publisher.
Matthew Smith says at: July 19, 2010 at 12:28 pm
Eurostile, Impact, Century Gothic and Market Felt for sales…lol
DW says at: July 22, 2010 at 2:48 pm
gill sans.
I have to change my font to gill sans before working on word. Times is yuck and frustrating!
Julianhutton says at: July 27, 2010 at 6:24 pm
“…an honest, fair and functional typeface.”
Personally, I don’t see how it is honest and fair, the stigma attached to it is just too strong. You say functional, well yes, but this all depends on the job! I hate seeing it used in books – it simply has no place, by its nature it isn’t legible due to how uniform it is. Like Spiekermann said, that they are like soldiers on parade and that is detrimental to legibility. And the fact people coin it as modern annoys me too, it is clearly based off Akzidenz Grotesk, which was created in 1899 for godsakes. It’s unfortunate that that Univers didn’t have the marketing behind it like Helvetica got from Linotype…
Motherbird says at: July 28, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Helvetica is honest and fair in the sense that it is a typeface for the people, it is accessible in its features. It has that anonymous feel to it that allows it to be translated into many different applications and styles. There is certainly a “no bullshit” attitude about it that captured modernist ideals.
Helvetica and typefaces alike are modern in the sense that they possess modernist values, but they’re certainly not ‘contemporary’ which is what some people might mean when they use the term modern. Akzidenz, being the first sans-serif face, screams modernism.
I’m not sure that Univers is as beautifully formed as Helvetica.