2.2.10

article on the history of Arial and Helvetica...more reasons to dislike them both

"To professional designers, Arial is looked down on as a not-very-faithful imitation of a typeface that is no longer fashionable [Helvetica]."

http://www.ms-studio.com/articles.html
Posted by mooresy @ 8:04 AM
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6 comments:

Joshua said...

Wow... Never even thought about the history of a font. So, essentially these fonts will maintain a presence of commercialism like the business suit with oxford shirt and tie. When we see the image of it, it garners that response to those who notice. I think, though, as designers we can certainly utilize that characteristic like you see some people who use Times very successfully.

February 2, 2010 at 10:47 AM
laws said...

Have you seen the documentary "Helvetica"? It deals with the history of the font. Pretty interesting stuff. What I took away from it is that Helvetica was designed to be sort of the ultimate unobtrusive font; that is, the font to use when you want what you say, not the typeface, to speak to an audience. I really appreciate this idea, but it's got to be refractory to designers, right?

I think that it's really interesting that fonts, like pretty much everything else, can take on a life that is diametrically opposed to the one intended by the creator (I'm thinking of Frankenstein's monster, basically). I mean...what would the original Helvetica designers think of Josh's comment about commercialism?

February 2, 2010 at 12:59 PM
Kaitlyn said...

ughhh...i hate arial. helvetica can be tolerable. i also hate times...probably because that was the only thing they let us use in grade school and i became sick of it.

also, i have seen "helvetica" and its very interesting...although i think some people take typefaces way too seriously...

February 2, 2010 at 2:27 PM
Amy said...

An argument for Ariel:
I just went through a seminar demonstrating the importance of fonts in presentations. The lecturer broke down how your eyes adjust to serif and sans serif fonts and how long you are able to focus given certain fonts and backgrounds. What the studies show is that if you use a basic font such as ariel and helvetica, your mind is able to not only focus more of the information but also retain it. Font use was also studied in children who are learning how to read using serif and sans serif fonts. So there is a reason why ariel and helvetica is so mainstream...it just pertains to the biology of your eye. Don't hate too much! Also best background: dark blue and white lettering.

February 2, 2010 at 7:45 PM
laws said...

OMFG, Amy...the science of font usage. We get lectured on this ALL OF THE TIME when putting together talks.

Still, when people use Comic Sans, I want to throttle them. I don't care what its serif status is.

February 2, 2010 at 9:45 PM
Amy said...

I figured someone had to bring in the science aspect of it. Yea I am pretty much over anything with a loop. Fonts can't really make the whole "species are dying" concept any happier. I dont care what you use.

February 2, 2010 at 9:52 PM

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