howthesausageismade

Helvetica

by Max Miedinger · design · 1957

sparse entry

helvetica, originally called neue haas grotesk, is a sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by swiss typeface designer max miedinger and eduard hoffmann at the haas type foundry of münchenstein, switzerland. the primary influence on helvetica was akzidenz-grotesk from berthold; hoffman's scrapbook of proofs of the design shows careful comparison of test proofs with snippets of akzidenz-grotesk. notable features include a high x-height, the termination of strokes on horizontal or vertical lines and an unusually tight spacing between letters, which combine to give it a dense, solid appearance.

visual reference

  • Akzidenz-Grotesk · Berthold Type Foundrynot yet generatedgenerate →

    miedinger drew helvetica by direct comparison with akzidenz-grotesk. hoffmann's scrapbook shows test proofs of the new design laid alongside snippets of akzidenz-grotesk for careful comparison during the development process in 1956-1957.

    “The primary influence on Helvetica was Akzidenz-Grotesk from Berthold; Hoffman's scrapbook of proofs of the design shows careful comparison of test proofs with snippets of Akzidenz-Grotesk.”
    source ↗
  • Schelter-Grotesk · Schelter & Gieseckenot yet generatedgenerate →

    helvetica's curved tail on the capital r was drawn from schelter-grotesk, a turn-of-the-century sans serif that haas already sold. miedinger followed some of schelter & giesecke's forms when he designed the typeface.

    “Its 'R' with a curved tail resembles Schelter-Grotesk, another turn-of-the-century sans-serif sold by Haas.”
    source ↗

citations

  1. [01]

    Wikidata · Helvetica· archive

    “sans-serif typeface”
  2. [02]

    Wikipedia · Helveticasingle-source· article

    “Helvetica, also known by its original name Neue Haas Grotesk, is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann.”