4 ms·

The Evian and Skype logos are definitely not typeset in Helvetica.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
quesera 13y ago
I also question the Sears and Microsoft logos. The thing about Helvetica -- its essential character -- is in its directness and balance and understatedness and purity, modulo a few well-known quirks (e.g. capital R). When you perturb that (rounded terminals for Skype, fucked up "e" and "a" for Evian, block-skew-italic and glyph mods for Microsoft) I feel like you lose the whole point of the typeface. "Based on Helvetica" is not Helvetica.
Springtime 13y ago
Although Evian isn't, the Skype logo is based on some customized variant of Helvetica Rounded. Other logos that clearly aren't Helvetica are the the Crate & Barrel logo pictured in the article, which is Arial, and the American Airlines typeface which appears to be a customized Frutiger (although the old version of the logo was set in Helvetica). It's a perfectly great typeface, but far too overused.
- mortenjorck 13y ago
  Crate & Barrel definitely does use Helvetica, but their logo has one of the more... idiosyncratic alternates in the history of its use. That geometrically circular 'C' has always irked me, but it wouldn't be Crate & Barrel without it.
  - Springtime 13y ago
    The actual company logo [1] uses Helvetica (apart from that bizarre 'C'), however the font printed on the back of the plate seen in the article [2] is definitely Arial. Note all the angled terminations. [1] http://myrevuze.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/crate_and_barrel_logo_01.jpg http://myrevuze.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/crate_and_bar... [2] http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140227182036-02-helvetica-crate-and-barrel-horizontal-gallery.jpg http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140227182036-02-helv...
- rbilgil 13y ago
  Evian used to be Helvetica too: http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/sites/default/files/styles/logo-thumbnail/public/0005/7051/brand.gif http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/sites/default/files/styles/l...
mortenjorck 13y ago
While I can't get too upset at CNN for not having a typography expert on speed dial, that slideshow is honestly pretty terrible. - American Airlines famously used Helvetica for decades, but the 2013 rebrand (shown in the picture) uses a newer humanist sans family. - Evian's logotype shares some of Helvetica's proportions, but it's clearly a different type family (the terminals on the 'e' and 'a' are totally different), possibly a highly customized Frutiger. - Staples does use Helvetica, but that sign doesn't! I'm not sure if that's from some aborted redesign, cut-rate sign contractor, or what, but compare the size of the counters (open spaces) on both the A and the P: http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/01/02/business/ADCO/ADCO-videoSixteenByNine1050.jpg http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/01/02/business/ADCO/ADCO... - It looks like Skype is using Helvetica Rounded, which is fair (it was added over 20 years after the original Helvetica family), but it's worth pointing that out instead of having an unrelated caption.
theswan 13y ago
For a kick: http://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/ http://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/
- riffraff 13y ago
  I thought I couldn't tell the difference but got 18/20. I know nothing about typography, but after getting the first wrong it's surprisingly easy: just look at c,s,o,R,G.
  - andyhmltn 13y ago
    And the t's. Helvetica doesn't have weird slants on the top :)
- girvo 13y ago
  I'm no designer, but I got 14/20. I guess my years of using Macs rubbed off on my subconscious.
- rprospero 13y ago
  As I've said elsewhere in this thread, I simply don't understand typography. I took the quiz and got 10/20, which I could have gotten from just guessing randomly. Was the Helvetica supposed to be more readable than the Arial? Or is Arial supposed to be a substitute for Helvetica?
  - Spittie 13y ago
    Many "font experts" consider Helvetica one of the best font ever created, and at the same time call Arial a "bad one". That side is supposed to show that in reality Arial is very close to Helvetica, and not everyone is capable of distinguish them.
  - fennecfoxen 13y ago
    Interesting quiz. I found the differences in ends of the C's, and the s's, and a's, and the tops of the t's, and the like. In the Helvetica ones they're completely level; in the Arial they've got a little bit of a tilt to them. NFC how the uppercase editions differ, though. :b

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

I also question the Sears and Microsoft logos. The thing about Helvetica -- its essential character -- is in its directness and balance and understatedness and purity, modulo a few well-known quirks (e.g. capital R). When you perturb that (rounded terminals for Skype, fucked up "e" and "a" for Evian, block-skew-italic and glyph mods for Microsoft) I feel like you lose the whole point of the typeface. "Based on Helvetica" is not Helvetica.

Springtime 13y ago

Although Evian isn't, the Skype logo is based on some customized variant of Helvetica Rounded. Other logos that clearly aren't Helvetica are the the Crate & Barrel logo pictured in the article, which is Arial, and the American Airlines typeface which appears to be a customized Frutiger (although the old version of the logo was set in Helvetica). It's a perfectly great typeface, but far too overused.

mortenjorck 13y ago
Crate & Barrel definitely does use Helvetica, but their logo has one of the more... idiosyncratic alternates in the history of its use. That geometrically circular 'C' has always irked me, but it wouldn't be Crate & Barrel without it.
- Springtime 13y ago
  The actual company logo [1] uses Helvetica (apart from that bizarre 'C'), however the font printed on the back of the plate seen in the article [2] is definitely Arial. Note all the angled terminations. [1] http://myrevuze.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/crate_and_barrel_logo_01.jpg http://myrevuze.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/crate_and_bar... [2] http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140227182036-02-helvetica-crate-and-barrel-horizontal-gallery.jpg http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140227182036-02-helv...
rbilgil 13y ago
Evian used to be Helvetica too: http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/sites/default/files/styles/logo-thumbnail/public/0005/7051/brand.gif http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/sites/default/files/styles/l...

mortenjorck 13y ago

While I can't get too upset at CNN for not having a typography expert on speed dial, that slideshow is honestly pretty terrible. - American Airlines famously used Helvetica for decades, but the 2013 rebrand (shown in the picture) uses a newer humanist sans family. - Evian's logotype shares some of Helvetica's proportions, but it's clearly a different type family (the terminals on the 'e' and 'a' are totally different), possibly a highly customized Frutiger. - Staples does use Helvetica, but that sign doesn't! I'm not sure if that's from some aborted redesign, cut-rate sign contractor, or what, but compare the size of the counters (open spaces) on both the A and the P: http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/01/02/business/ADCO/ADCO-videoSixteenByNine1050.jpg http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/01/02/business/ADCO/ADCO... - It looks like Skype is using Helvetica Rounded, which is fair (it was added over 20 years after the original Helvetica family), but it's worth pointing that out instead of having an unrelated caption.

theswan 13y ago

For a kick: http://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/ http://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/

riffraff 13y ago
I thought I couldn't tell the difference but got 18/20. I know nothing about typography, but after getting the first wrong it's surprisingly easy: just look at c,s,o,R,G.
- andyhmltn 13y ago
  And the t's. Helvetica doesn't have weird slants on the top :)
girvo 13y ago
I'm no designer, but I got 14/20. I guess my years of using Macs rubbed off on my subconscious.
rprospero 13y ago
As I've said elsewhere in this thread, I simply don't understand typography. I took the quiz and got 10/20, which I could have gotten from just guessing randomly. Was the Helvetica supposed to be more readable than the Arial? Or is Arial supposed to be a substitute for Helvetica?
- Spittie 13y ago
  Many "font experts" consider Helvetica one of the best font ever created, and at the same time call Arial a "bad one". That side is supposed to show that in reality Arial is very close to Helvetica, and not everyone is capable of distinguish them.
- fennecfoxen 13y ago
  Interesting quiz. I found the differences in ends of the C's, and the s's, and a's, and the tops of the t's, and the like. In the Helvetica ones they're completely level; in the Arial they've got a little bit of a tilt to them. NFC how the uppercase editions differ, though. :b