Helvetica, the universal primary typeface can be virtually seen everywhere. It has a long history as its history has a lot of twists and turns. It was developed in 1957 in Münchenstein, Switzerland by by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann at the Haas'sche Schriftgiesserei (Haas Type Foundry) Its design was based on the then popular Schelter-Grotesk and Haas' Normal Grotesk which was extremely successful in the Swiss Market.
There are actually 2 versions of Helvetica. The first being the original one developed by Miedinger released in 1957. The second being Neue Helvetica released by D.Stempel AG in 1983.
Their purpose was to develop a new sans-serif typeface which would become the new norm. A neutral typeface that can be used in a wide variety of industries. It would have clarity, no special meaning in its form which would make it one of the most legible font.
Read more at www.historygraphicdesign.com
Helvetica is used everywhere digitally. It is a neutral typeface that is easily legible and gives a professional look. It is currently used most common in brand names such as Nestle, and Lufthansa, shop names such as American Apparel, public signage around the New York subway system, tech companies such as Microsoft, Apple and many more. Apple uses Helvetica Neue as its default typeface currently.
Read more at www.theguardian.com
Helvetica is a Neo-grotesque sans-serif. Which means it does not have extending features(serifs). Neo-grotesque is the modern form of grotesque which often is straightforward with limited width variations.
Read more at Wikipedia
Helvetica has many variations. It was varied many times and as a result it exists in more than 102 languages including Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Greek and many others. Helvetica has also evolved to Helvetica Light, Helvetica Compressed, Helvetica Textbook, Helvetica Rounded, and Neue Helvetica among many others.
Read more at www.visualhierarchy.com
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