The Helvetica Font is 50 Years Old
I’ve never really thought about it… but back there somewhere, somebody designed the fonts that we use every day… so, here’s a story on the Helvetica font at 50 years old!
“The Helvetica font is celebrating its 50th birthday. You’ve probably seen it a thousand times today. Why? At this moment in boardrooms across the globe, captains of industry are leafing through sheet after sheet of typefaces. There are hundreds of choices, but many of these movers and shakers don’t take a lot of leafing before plumping for Helvetica. We live in a world where we are surrounded 24 hours a day by adverts and corporate communications, many in typefaces chosen to subliminally complement the message. 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. 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.”
OK… your odd thought for the day… does the Helvetica font really make you think that everything will be all right? Hummmm…