Ī 1969 poster by Robert Geisser exemplifying the "Swiss" style of the 1950s and 60s: solid red colour, simple images and neo-grotesque sans-serif type, all in lower case. A feature-length film directed by Gary Hustwit was released in 2007 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the typeface's introduction in 1957. Originally named Neue Haas Grotesk (New Haas Grotesque), it was rapidly licensed by Linotype and renamed Helvetica in 1960, which in Latin means "Swiss" (from Helvetia), capitalising on Switzerland's reputation as a centre of ultra-modern graphic design. Miedinger and Hoffmann set out to create a neutral typeface that had great clarity, no intrinsic meaning in its form, and could be used on a wide variety of signage. Hoffmann was the president of the Haas Type Foundry, while Miedinger was a freelance graphic designer who had formerly worked as a Haas salesman and designer. 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.ĭeveloped by the Haas'sche Schriftgiesserei ( Haas Type Foundry) of Münchenstein ( Basel), Switzerland, its release was planned to match a trend: a resurgence of interest in turn-of-the-century "grotesque" sans-serifs among European graphic designers, that also saw the release of Univers by Adrian Frutiger the same year. 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. Its use became a hallmark of the International Typographic Style that emerged from the work of Swiss designers in the 1950s and '60s, becoming one of the most popular typefaces of the mid-20th century. Helvetica is a neo-grotesque design, one influenced by the famous 19th century (1890s) typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk and other German and Swiss designs. Helvetica or Neue Haas Grotesk is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann. However, if you're looking for something that's more of a cousin than a brother or son, they might fit the bill.1957 sans-serif typeface developed by Max Miedinger Helvetica News/Trade Gothic are grotesques as well, but they're not Swiss in nature, so I don't think they're true alternatives. I've not ever used this one personally but it looks great and is a robust font set.ĭalton Maag made their own version (apparently out of a love for Univers and a hatred for Helvetica, as this Creative Review article details) called Aktiv Grotesk:įinally, one more I wanted to add in is Akzidenz Grotesk - it's sort of the father of Helvetica so it's worthy of inclusion (BQ version shown below, available here): If you would like a paid alternative, try Neue Haas Grotesk: It also comes with a Condensed and Slab variant as well. And, it looks great on a screen, which isn't always the case with OSX's Helveticas. Here's a comparison between the two - to be clear, this is Google's Helvetica, and while I still prefer the original, this is a nice alternative.
#Helvetica neue adobe free#
If you want a free alternative that's pretty robust, try Roboto: Also, it is best to get a visual comparison between fonts if possible (e.g. There have been questions about free alternatives to Helvetica and also similar fonts to Helvetica Neue, but the answers were based on available fonts from at least a couple years ago and I would like to know if there have been changes or new fonts since. This was the response, Michael Lai gave me: I (Ryan, whom is editing this) asked what is meant by dated. Please include a visual example if possible, and include some reasons why each font would be a good choice I'm after a smallish number of well-thought-out suggestions, and definitely not a bare list.
![helvetica neue adobe helvetica neue adobe](https://cdn.freebiesupply.com/images/large/1x/work-sans-font-free-helvetica-alternative.png)
a single story 'a' or distinctly different 'g'. I guess I'm looking for something that will be a close match in most of its shapes but will have enough points of difference to make people (OK, other designers) wonder what I've used.
![helvetica neue adobe helvetica neue adobe](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2UTRNWz8GD6QYA7CPcYNU9-1200-80.jpg)
![helvetica neue adobe helvetica neue adobe](http://legionfonts.com/img-fonts/helvetica-condensed-light-li/og-helvetica-condensed-light-li-font-abc.jpg)
I'd like to use something similar-but-different for my poster project.