Comments on: Helvetica http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/ Cycling, articles, sites, and thoughts Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:22:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: todd http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68187 todd Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:54:02 +0000 http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68187 Heh <blockquote>"Arial has now overtaken Helvetica as the standard font in practically everything done by those who don't know better."</blockquote> Heh

“Arial has now overtaken Helvetica as the standard font in practically everything done by those who don’t know better.”

]]> By: John http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68184 John Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:17:45 +0000 http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68184 Way to sneak in the Flashpaper on me while I was typinating. Way to sneak in the Flashpaper on me while I was typinating.

]]> By: John http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68183 John Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:16:20 +0000 http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68183 Yeah, but MS has had Arial since Windows 3.1, so there's probably some kind of mutually beneficial relationship going on since then. Arial is close, but wow. Swiss 721 is identical to Helvetica in my eyes. I don't think I could tell the difference in a lineup. <a href="http://www.mimeartist.com/helvetica/" rel="nofollow">Fight!</a> Yeah, but MS has had Arial since Windows 3.1, so there’s probably some kind of mutually beneficial relationship going on since then.

Arial is close, but wow. Swiss 721 is identical to Helvetica in my eyes. I don’t think I could tell the difference in a lineup.

Fight!

]]> By: todd http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68181 todd Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:04:59 +0000 http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68181 Arial is from Monotype, so they're still paying someone for it. I never got to meet <a href="http://www.myfonts.com/person/carter/matthew/" rel="nofollow">Matthew Carter</a>. He left Bitstream the year before my contract there. This <a href="http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/helvetica/familytree.html" rel="nofollow">family tree thing</a> is kind of nice. That's part of what the job I was doing at Bitstream was about. (I was doing a desktop database with info extracted from their Oracle DB that would give a desktop app some pretty sophisticated font management). Arial is from Monotype, so they’re still paying someone for it.

I never got to meet Matthew Carter. He left Bitstream the year before my contract there.

This family tree thing is kind of nice. That’s part of what the job I was doing at Bitstream was about. (I was doing a desktop database with info extracted from their Oracle DB that would give a desktop app some pretty sophisticated font management).

]]> By: John http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68179 John Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:54:55 +0000 http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68179 I believe that Arial is what MS uses to not pay Linotype for Helvetica, but instead have something really close. The "terminal strokes" (ha ha!) are on the diagonal. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ArialMTsp.svg" rel="nofollow">Arial</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HelveticaSpecimenCH.svg" rel="nofollow">Helvetica</a> I believe that Arial is what MS uses to not pay Linotype for Helvetica, but instead have something really close. The “terminal strokes” (ha ha!) are on the diagonal.

Arial

Helvetica

]]> By: todd http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68178 todd Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:49:16 +0000 http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68178 No, I don't have Helvetica on my machine, but I do have Swiss which is Bitstream's version of Helvetica. I mean, I have the general idea of the thing, or at least I think I do. "I know it when I see it," I say. But I'm not sure I do. They said in the film that Arial is another version of Helvetica, but the cutoffs aren't horizontal. So, does that mean it's not really Helvetica? I mean, if you were to put them both together, I may or may not be able to spot the differences, but even if I could, I'm not sure I could name the right one in a "taste test". No, I don’t have Helvetica on my machine, but I do have Swiss which is Bitstream’s version of Helvetica. I mean, I have the general idea of the thing, or at least I think I do. “I know it when I see it,” I say. But I’m not sure I do.

They said in the film that Arial is another version of Helvetica, but the cutoffs aren’t horizontal. So, does that mean it’s not really Helvetica? I mean, if you were to put them both together, I may or may not be able to spot the differences, but even if I could, I’m not sure I could name the right one in a “taste test”.

]]> By: John http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68175 John Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:37:29 +0000 http://cycling.finial.com/blog/2008/02/06/helvetica/#comment-68175 After watching this movie, I looked at the logo on my site and the slanted cutoffs on the letters there really stuck out. Heh. I think I got enough from the horizontal cuts and the teardrop shape in the lowercase "a" to get the general idea of the typeface. (There was a thing about the tails on the capital "R" too, wasn't there?) I think the filmmakers must have figured that going into it much more would be redundant to those who know and mind-numbingly boring to those who didn't. Do you even have this font in Windows? <a href="http://www.linotype.com/526/helvetica-family.html" rel="nofollow">Linotype wants upwards of $80</a> for a decent workable TTF collection. After watching this movie, I looked at the logo on my site and the slanted cutoffs on the letters there really stuck out. Heh.

I think I got enough from the horizontal cuts and the teardrop shape in the lowercase “a” to get the general idea of the typeface. (There was a thing about the tails on the capital “R” too, wasn’t there?) I think the filmmakers must have figured that going into it much more would be redundant to those who know and mind-numbingly boring to those who didn’t.

Do you even have this font in Windows? Linotype wants upwards of $80 for a decent workable TTF collection.

]]>