Started by Chidi Eze (@pixelpushr) ·
how to tell Helvetica and Arial apart (and why Arial exists)
Look at the R, the G, and the top of the t. Helvetica's stroke ends are cut horizontal, Arial's are angled. Arial was drawn for Monotype in 1982 to fit exactly the same space as Helvetica without licensing it, which is how it quietly replaced Helvetica on so many PCs.
6 sources · 34 min down the hole
How I got here
- Started with
- “helvetica vs arial difference”
- Ended at
- Massimo Vignelli
The Trail
- “helvetica vs arial difference” (google.com)
- Helvetica (en.wikipedia.org)
originally Neue Haas Grotesk (1957), renamed so it would sell abroad
- Arial (en.wikipedia.org)
same widths as Helvetica, so you can swap one for the other without text reflowing
- Akzidenz-Grotesk (en.wikipedia.org)
- Helvetica (film) (en.wikipedia.org)
- Massimo Vignelli (en.wikipedia.org)
Keep going
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