Hello! I’ve decided to start a new series called “Font of the Week.” I wanted to show appreciation for some of the most famous and widely used fonts in the graphic design world. I plan on breaking each section off into two parts:
- History
- Download
I’d like to try and publish these once a week. What do you think? Have any suggestions on what I could add to this series? Tell me in the comments below! Without further delay, I’d like to start this series off with a font that is infamous: Helvetica
History
Helvetica was born in 1957 to a Swiss typeface designer named Max Miedinger. Influenced by the typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk, Helvetica became one of the most popular typefaces to hit the market. With its simple curves and neutral letterforms, Helvetica quickly became a use-all typeface. It quickly gained traction in Switzerland and became the national personification of the Swiss Confederation: eventually ending up on government documents across the nation.
With its popularity, many variants of Helvetica emerged for various purposes. Each staying true to the neutrality that Helvetica has become known for. These variants helped birth the Helvetica upgrade known as “Helvetica Neue.” With a more structured style, Helvetica Neue has over 50 different font weights and has become so popular that Apple’s iOS uses it as its default system font. Apple explains the use of Helvetica Neue is to create a consistent, elegant, yet simple user experience.
Source
Download
Given that Helvetica is a Licensed font, you do have to pay for it, but I will also include a font that is similar in nature that is free to download!
Click to download Aliquam (Similar to Helvetica)
