Kristin Becker's DTC Classes at WSU

Toyota Automobile Company Official Logo

For my example of the use of the type face Helvetica I chose the Toyota automobile brand logo. Helvetica was a typeface that was created during the World War II times to be more precise in 1957 and the creator Max Miedinger designed a clean cut and legible type face for people to use. The scale of the of the letters is consistent throughout the whole thing and with the use of all capital letter it helps keep the unity between the whole text. From the base line of the letters to the x-height and the cap height are all the same because the letters are capitalized. With the letters being all capitalized it does just what Hlevetica is supposed to be used for, it makes the text legible, clean but also with a modern and efficient design and look to it. When looking at this logo it has a sense of its own atmosphere because the space between the letters is theonly thing that takes up space within this white background. Helvetica is a Universal type face that most logos that we know to day use but the way that Toyota has decided to use it by making it all capital letters makes it even more legible when trying to read it. It catches your eye because the siz would be different from most other logos because it would be larger than most with the use of the capital letters. Helvetica does not use serifs so it helps the type face look a bit more simple but still clean and legible at the same time.

Lufthansa – A German airline that uses the font Helvetica.

The brand I have chosen to use is the Lufthansa, a German airline. The font Helvetica is already a universally used font because of how simple and sophisticated it looks. It is easily legible and captures modernism. The typeface itself is uniform which is another reason why it is easier to read. Since Lufthansa is an international airline, it’s important for the typeface to be legible and uniform so that people of all over the world and in every airport is able to read and recognize the brand immediately. The lack of ligatures and the uniformity of the ascenders in the font contribute to the recognizability of the font itself. The bowl of the “a” and the spine of the “s” are other examples of how uniform this font is. Lufthansa is a company who’s intent is to transport people all over the world and as such, they need a universal font that will connect everyone together in some way. Helvetica itself seems like a very down-to-earth, serious font and the company expresses that. According to the documentary that we watched in class on Thursday, graphic designers have a social responsibility and as such, choosing Helvetica as their font of choice was a good idea. Helvetica clean, neutral, and democratic and expresses efficiency within the brand of Lufthansa. Since Lufthansa is a globally known airline, this is a favorable thing for this company.

Cards Against Humanity LLC

I had not realized that the typeface used for Cards Against Humanity was Helvetica. I think this font is appropriate for hiding the dark comedic nature of the card game. Helvetica is clear and easy to read. This makes delivering the dark humor used in the game simple and effective. They could have picked a more decorative typeface that would convey the card game’s dark humor. But the company may have simply wanted a corporate feel to make the card game appear like an officially licensed product.

The scale of the title remains consistent throughout. This does not include the sub text which is slightly smaller than the title itself. Only the first letter of each word is capitalized in the title. All of the text seem to be aligned to the right side with no indent. The type classification for Helvetica is Transitional Sans Serif. The Type Family used looks to be Bold Helvetica. I do not think they mixed type families in the title as it carries the same weight throughout. The white text on black makes the title of the game immediately recognizable. Also, while there is little punctuation used on the box cover, periods are consistently used on the white cards.

The Microsoft logo exhibits an effective use of Helvetica. Helvetica itself is a tremendously legible typeface, thus making it a commonly used font style in many forms of visual media. As such, Helvetica is recognizable and often used by designers to draw in viewers. Microsoft is one of the leading electronics/technical companies in the world, so it is only fitting that their logo would utilize the iconic font style. In the Microsoft logo, Microsoft is spelt out in bold black block letters using the Helvetica font, however the font seems to be slightly italicized. Helvetica was surely used in this logo because of its legibility and its universal recognition. The font is written in bold lettering so the widths of the letters are very wide, to the point where the letters almost touch each other. This serves to make the letters “pop out” and ultimately makes Microsoft more legible in the logo. Overall, the heights of the letters are scaled in a traditional fashion, which ultimately operates to generate recognition in consumers from all around the world – some who may not necessarily speak the English language but can recognize the Microsoft logo through their traditional design. Generally, the Microsoft logo is quite simple and straight to the point. The design utilizes Helvetica very effectively and in the way it was supposed to be used, thus allowing the company to reach consumers of their product from all around the world.

Designed by Scott Baker
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