🧵 Who Gave Helvetica So Much Power?
A history of the world’s most boringly dominant font
If fonts had a royal family, Helvetica would be the queen. It’s everywhere. On subway signs, airline logos, your resume, the IRS website, and probably whatever minimalist startup tried to sell you vitamin water with “clean design.”
But how did this painfully neutral typeface become the Beyoncé of the font world?
Let’s roll the timeline.
Born in Switzerland, Raised on Global Capitalism
Helvetica was designed in 1957 by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann in Switzerland. The idea? Create a super-legible, no-nonsense sans-serif typeface that could speak clearly without yelling. Helvetica was originally named Neue Haas Grotesk (iconic). Why rename you ask? Purely Marketing purposes. In 1960, the font was nearly named Helvetia, Latin for Switzerland - but legal issues forced a tweak. The result? Helvetica: still Swiss, but trademark-safe.
What made Helvetica so special? Its distinctive characteristics include a high x-height (making it easier to read at a distance), the termination of strokes on horizontal or vertical lines, and unusually tight spacing between letters. These elements combine to create a dense, solid appearance with remarkable readability and visual neutrality.
In the 1960s, as global corporations were trying to look “modern” and “efficient,” Helvetica showed up and brands like Pan Am, American Airlines, and IBM signed on. Helvetica became corporate America’s font of choice. Because nothing says “trust us” like clean geometry and emotional repression.
Helvetica and the Subway Takeover
In the 1970s, the NYC subway system adopted Helvetica for its signage. The goal? Clarity. What they got? Helvetica’s permanent reign over public infrastructure. Helvetica is now the reason why you can find your way to Coney Island without having a panic attack (well… probably).
Then Came the Hipsters
Fast forward to the early 2000s. American Apparel brought Helvetica back - but ironically. Suddenly, the same font that powered Swiss bank ads was being used for semi-nude sweatshop-free underwear posters.
And the design world ate it up. Clean, minimalist Helvetica became the look. Resumes. Portfolios. Corporate decks. Helvetica meant you were tasteful, modern, and probably bought at least one Muji pen.
Helvetica Fatigue
By the 2010s, we’d seen enough. Helvetica was in everything, and therefore nothing. Apple quietly dropped it from iOS. Designers started reaching for Futura, Aperçu, GT America - anything with a liiiittle more personality. Helvetica had become the font equivalent of an overpriced plain bagel.
Gen Z Said “We’re Good, Thanks”
Gen Z doesn’t want sleek neutrality. They want weird. They want gritty, nostalgic, aggressively specific. They’re into “ugly” fonts now - 90s serif throwbacks, stretched typography, Y2K chaos energy. They want their fonts to feel like an inside joke, not a Swiss banker’s tax form.
Helvetica still slays when used right. But in an era where branding talks like a meme and even your oat milk has a tone of voice, Helvetica’s “I have no feelings” energy feels… tired.
👉🏼 And now, more memes:
Helvetics queen ❤️😂