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Helvetica
EntityQ504745· pop 36· linked from 475 articles

Also known as Neue Haas Grotesk

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.

Key facts

Typeface.releasedate
April 2019
Typeface.creator
Jan Hendrik Weber and Charles Nix
Typeface.foundry
Monotype
Typeface.foundries
Mergenthaler Linotype Company
Typeface.shown_here
Neue Helvetica
Typeface.metrically_compatible_with
ArialArimoLiberation Sans
Typeface.name
Helvetica
Typeface.style
Sans-serif
Typeface.classifications
Neo-grotesque
Typeface.image
Helvetica Now Specimen.svg
Typeface.based_on
Neue Helvetica
Typeface.aka
Neue Haas Grotesk
Typeface.variations
Helvetica InseratHelvetica CompressedNeue HelveticaHelvetica NowOthers (see below)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Designed by
Max Miedinger
Image
4-6 a01 rodina-pisma-helvetica.png
Show 4 more facts
Commons category
Helvetica
inception
1957-00-00
writing system
Arabic script
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~35 min read

Encyclopedic overview

40 sections
Contents
  • History
  • Characteristics
  • Usage examples
  • Media coverage
  • Variants
  • Helvetica Light
  • Helvetica Inserat
  • Helvetica Compressed (1966)
  • Helvetica Rounded (1978)
  • Helvetica Narrow
  • Helvetica Textbook
  • Language variants
  • Helvetica World
  • Neue Helvetica (1983)
  • Neue Helvetica W1G (2009)
  • Neue Helvetica Arabic (2009)
  • Neue Helvetica eText (2011)
  • (Neue) Helvetica Thai (2012)
  • Neue Helvetica Georgian (2015)
  • Neue Helvetica Armenian (2016)
  • Neue Helvetica World (2017)
  • Neue Haas Grotesk (2010)
  • Variable Font Version
  • Helvetica Now (2019)
  • Helvetica Now Variable (2022)
  • Helvetica clones
  • Optical sizes
  • Language extension
  • Arial and MS Sans Serif
  • Derivative designs
  • Zhukov and Kurbatov version
  • Forma (1968)
  • Manoptica
  • Helvetica Flair and others
  • Shatter LET (1973)
  • Unica
  • Chalet
  • Coolvetica
  • Notes
  • References

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.

Helvetica is a neo-grotesque design, one influenced by the famous 19th-century (1890s) typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk and other German and Swiss designs. Its use became a hallmark of the International Typographic Style that emerged from the work of Swiss designers in the 1950s and 1960s, becoming one of the most popular typefaces of the mid-20th century. Over the years, a wide range of variants have been released in different weights, widths, and sizes, as well as matching designs for a range of non-Latin alphabets. Notable features of Helvetica as originally designed 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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Helvetica” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (40)