Released in 1957 as Neue Haas Grotesk, and renamed three years later, Helvetica is the poster boy of the International Typographic Style, or Swiss Style – in fact, 'Helvetica' is Latin for 'Swiss'. But its ubiquity is partly due to the fact it's not always used for the right reasons. It has become the 'safe choice', the neutral option – or for some, an easy way to be effortlessly cool and timeless. Ubiquity breeds contempt, and in many ways Helvetica is a beautifully crafted typeface that has become a victim of its own success. Posters promoting Gary Hustwit's Helvetica documentary, by Experimental Jetset – set in Helvetica, of course It's also great for accessibility, and is officially recommended by the British Dyslexia Association.
The reality? It's actually perfect for its intended use. There are campaigns to ban it, and it's become an easy short-hand reference for bad typography. It wasn't meant for use outside of comic speech bubbles, and yet it's absolutely exploded worldwide. In fact, it was originally designed by Vincent Connare to give 'Microsoft Bob', a helpful dog bundled with Windows 95, a warmer, more playful tone in his speech bubbles – but was never actually used for that purpose. But consider its name: it's not called 'Comic' Sans because it's comical, but because it's based on the type in comic book speech bubbles. In so many situations, Comic Sans is horrible. It's famed for being amateurish, silly, chosen by people who want something informal and jaunty, but are 'designing' their poster in Word – and Arial or Times New Roman just won't cut it.
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