Helvetica Undergoes Transformation to Meet New Standards
One of the most popular and commonly used typeface/ font 'Helvetica' has been redrawn by the designers at Monotype to suit the needs of a modern day contemporary artist, reader or writer.
Used by numerous students for their projects to be used by brands like Apple and Nestlé in their logo designs, Helvetica is one of the most widespread and universal typefaces utilized around the world, thanks to its simple and crisp design. Originally created by Max Miedinger and Edward Hoffman in 1957, this Swiss typeface has been used by countless brands and has managed to remain quite popular even today. To keep up with the modern standards of this decade, Monotype has reintroduced Helvetica as "Helvetica Now", which is simpler, clearer and more sophisticated than its predecessors. "The design introduces a new chapter in the Helvetica story- expanding its look and utility while reinvigorating its heritage", says Charles Nix, type director of Monotype.
Helvetica Now has been upgraded to provide more alternatives for graphic designers and creative professionals, like having size – specific drawings with size – specific spacing and a wide range of fonts and sizes to choose from. Completed over a span of 4 years, the designers have carefully redrawn all the existing characters and produced a new family of fonts: 48 fonts with 3 optical sizes to be precise; which include micro, text and display. Overcoming the limitations of the previous typeface's spacing and legibility, the three new optical sizes have broadened the scope of Helvetica.
Helvetica Now Micro has alterations like a larger x-height with wider forms and open apertures making it highly comprehensible even at smaller sizes (4-7 points). On the other hand, Helvetica Now Display has been enhanced to be more eloquent when it comes to big and bold messages as it eliminates the need to make physical adjustments to the spacing. The size which is ideal for reading and information-rich domains, Helvetica Now Text has weights ranging from Thin to Black, alongside adequate spacing and kernel, which makes is pleasing to read.
Apart from these sizes, the designers have worked meticulously to also create brand new alternate glyphs in this advanced Helvetica family. A single story 'a' and a straight legged capital 'R' with their own alternates of each weight and optical style has also been included. The designers have gone all way to provide a wide range of alternates for different purposes and have also included a suite Helvetica arrows.
Monotype has successfully modified and redrawn 40,000 letters of the older version of Helvetica and produced a font that is more applicable in modern times and provides more scope for designers. Helvetica Now is now available for people and can found on Monotype's cloud-based font discovery system 'Mosaic'. It can be bought as single weights or the complete typeface families at different prices.
