Page 19 - INTERACTIVE MAGAZINE

DESIGN N THINGS. ARTIST
September/October. PROFILES
18

He’s the creator of the Helvetica typeface
and a profound figure in typographic history.

Edouard Hoffman on the typeface which would lat-

Four years after its birth, Helvetica was given
an oblique brother. More weights were added later,
er be called Helvetica.
verse foundries, but these lacked consistency, and
ax Miedinger was a Swiss typeface de-
Helvetica became a hodge podge of different fonts.
signer. He was famous for creating the
Linotype has since redrawn every style and
Neue Haas Grotesk typeface in 1957
weight of the font to make a consistent family
Mwhich was renamed Helvetica in 1960. ” ” ” ” but they were made by different designers in di-
of typefaces. Differences in alignment
Marketed as a symbol of cutting-edge Swiss technol-
were corrected, subtle fea-
tures were made consistent
Between 1926 and 1930 Miedinger trained as a
from one face to another, and
tended
ogy, Helvetica went global at once.
all the weights and widths were
typesetter in Zürich, after which he at-
designed to work together as one
evening classes at the Kunstgewerbe-
family. This new family is called
Neue Helvetica, and is available
At the age of sixteen Max be-
schule in Zürich.
came an apprentice typesetter
Today, Helvetica is shunned by
from, among others, Adobe.
at a book printing office for
many designers because it is overused due to its
“ “ “ “
Jacques Bollmann (in Zürich).
being the default typeface on many desktop pub-
lishing software packages. But, remember, it is the
After four years as an ap-
default face because it is such a reliable, workhorse
prentice, Miedinger enrolled
of a typeface. Together with Times New Roman,
in the School of Arts and
old, he went to work for an advertising
Crafts. When he was 26 years
studio called Globe. Here he worked as a typog-
Helvetica was the most specified face of the ’60s,
rapher and improved his skills. After ten years
of working at Globe, Miedinger then gained em-
ployment with Haas Type Foundry as a represen-
tative. This is where he made his mark on history
and designed the most used typeface of the 20th
’70s and ’80s.
In 1956 Miedinger became a freelance graphic
designer and about a year later he collaborated with
century, Helvetica.