Kristin Becker's DTC Classes at WSU

I chose to use the skype logo as an example for the helvetica blog post largely due to the fact that skype, like helvetica, has the intention of being universal. Helvetica is a typeface created with the purpose of being simple, ultimately using the white (and in this case, blue) spaces around the letters to create the logos atmosphere, and being accessible to anyone anywhere in the world. The skype logo is in all lowercase letters, but the lettering is evenly spaced and extremely clean, showing up really well against the blue background that holds the letters in place. Even though skype is a relatively new brand with a logo that has been around for less than a decade, more and more people use it every year around the world and can recognize and identify the iconic blue and white logo, due in part to the great use of helvetica for the lettering of the logo itself to act accessible to anyone, no matter their location. Much like helvetica, skype is a program intended to connect people from different places around the world, and the logo offers a crisp, clear message that helps emphasize the programs intention.

This logo is for Post-it brand. The logo uses the Helvetica font which gives the logo a clean look. Since the background of the logo is colored sticky notes, the neautral text gives the logo a simple look. This makes it easier on the eyes for people to look at and immediately see the “Post-it” portion. Even though the text Helvetica was created in 1957 it still shows that the text is efficient because the Post-it brand is a very popular brand for sticky notes and everyone knows it. The width of a letter is very wide which gives a more eye popping look. The legibility of this typeface gives it an easy read and its simple and straight to the point. The scale of the letters are very large, if compared to the word “brand” in the logo. This helps the “Post-it” part seem more accessible to read. The “P” in “Post-it” seems larger in scale than the rest of the letters and it also seems bolded. Using Helvetica makes this logo appear very appealing to the eye because it’s large and clear. The type of classification of the lettering looks like humanist sans serif. Helvetica is very universal and many logos and companies use this text because of the simplicity and clean look it gives.

The example of something in my life that uses the Helvetica font is the cover for a TV show that I watch called Mad Men. Looking at this poster, one can immediately see the resemblance of a form of Helvetica font, after researching further I found that the specific type is called Helvetica Neue Heavy. I believe the designer used this font for this cover to provide something that is very clear and legible. As the point of the show isn’t some fantasy wild imaginative thing but rather a realistic calculating story of something that could happen in real life. Therefore, choosing a font that we see every day symbolizes this aspect of the show and it’s resemblance to our everyday lives and the ordinary. The type classification in this poster is Traditional Serif, I was able to figure this out by looking at the capital A in “MAD”. It has no feet on the bottoms, the top part is flat, not pointed and it is skinny not fat. In addition, as seen in the title of the font (Neue Heavy) one can understand that the type of Helvetica in this poster is rather bolded and thicker than normal. There is a combination of large sizes in the main title and something less large and less bold perhaps a traditional Helvetica in the text below that reads “Where the truth lies”.

Apple iPhone 5C screenshot (self-taken)

For my use of Helvetica in a design, I chose iOS 8, the operating system run on iPhones and iPads. In using Helvetica, I think the designers at Apple wanted to convey readability and stability. iOS has long been lauded for being a stable operating system, and I think that they chose this typeface to typographically communicate this. The geometric shape of the letters, combined with the balance of the letterforms make the typeface feel like it does not have a lot of motion, and really conveys the stability that comes to mind when customers think of iOS.

The designers of iOS also wanted a typeface that would be highly legible on screens. Sans serif fonts tend to be more legible onscreen than serif typefaces, and the size of the letterforms in iOS 8 enable the text to be read at multiple sizes.

The visual overhaul from iOS 6 to iOS 7 (and 8 by extent) was intended to show that iOS was a modern operating system. Helvetica, especially in its thinner styles is a very modernistic typeface, and the choice to use a thinner form of the font was a very deliberate one.

Helvetica is a transitional sans serif font, which puts it somewhere between a geometric sans serif and a humanist sans serif font. Its letters are very uniform, and it tends to be legible at a smaller size, thanks to the relatively large letterforms.