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One of the key differences, though, is in the strokes for each character. Helvetica is somewhat more refined than Arial, even though each one has the same character width. I Love Typography has a great comparison of how Arial and Helvetica differ. But there are key differences among certain characters, notably G, R, r, t, a, and 3. To an untrained eye, the differences between the two fonts is almost undetectable.
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This is one reason why American Apparel chose to use the font for their own brand identity to poke fun at corporate culture in America.Īrial is a very similar font to Helvetica, and was developed in 1982. Because of this, it has become associated with corporate culture and business to some degree. Helvetica’s sleek lines and modern sensibilities were just what companies were looking for to remake their identities and set themselves apart from the past.Ĭorporations stick by Helvetica because of what they have invested in it. It was the opposite of all the kitschy, fancy, decorative typography that covered corporate materials and advertisements. Helvetica was designed in post-war Europe, and many companies were looking for a change. It also has improved legibility, increased spacing in numbers, and heavier punctuation marks. Neue Helvetica was developed in 1983 and has more structurally unified heights and widths among its characters.
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It’s only available in bold and black versions (including condensed and obliques), plus an outline version that wasn’t available digitally.
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Technically speaking, it’s a sans serif Grotesque typeface, inspired by and based on the Akzidenz-Grotesk typeface created by Berthold around 1898. Helvetica is one of the most popular typefaces in the world.
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