designprofessor
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2006
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Hmm.. I agree, of course if someone else were to say that it's a bad or boring font I'd tell them it's not - in many respects it's probably the best-crafted sans serif font in wide use. The problem is the wide usage. Nearly everything these days that's designed with the intention of looking "designy" uses Helvetica, and IMO it loses a lot of its luster over that. Nimbus is built around a similar aesthetic, but IMO, is a bit more unique, and looks quite good compressed.
I like it for the very reason you don't. I completely understand where you're coming from and don't disagree. I like Helvetica for all of its associations to the heyday of modern design. Today design seems to have a shelf life of about 10 minutes, Helvetica is indeed a bit long in the tooth.
This may draw flak from many, but I've always thought Bodoni to be a very elegant face. And if you ever see some of the original drawings by Eric Gill for Gill Sans, they are very cool. I'd love to own one.