BREIF- Create a type specimen for screen based on one of the fonts: Futura, Gill sans, Helvetica, Palatino, Times New Roman or Baskerville.
From looking at all of the above fonts I decided on Helvetica and to research further into particular font its history.
History of Helvetica
Helvetica was developed in 1957 by Max Miedinger, who is a Swiss typeface designer. Helvetica is a widely used sans serif typeface and I was drawn to this type as I find its simplicity very effective. In fact, when designing this font face Miedinger wanted a typeface that was clear to the eye and easy to read; through further research I discovered that the designers wanted a type face that was ‘neutral’ and ‘vanilla’. A type that could be used universally and all around the globe, on everything from signs, to billboards, to logos and this is due to its neutrality.
Helvetica is used by a number of famous brands and on numerous logos and posters world-wide, it was even the system font for the first ever iPhone. Through my research I have discovered that this font is still legible when in motion, which is another reason for its added popularity for signs and automakers. We see this font dozens of times everyday and here are some examples of were variations of Helvetica are used:
The designer has emphasised the horizontal stroke terminals, and it has tight tracking, this design gives the type its dense and sturdy appearance, and I favoured its sleek lines. I find it interesting how some critics say its’ design should be more expressive yet it is one of the most used typefaces and still dominates the world today. I think its simplicity will make for an effective type specimen screen.