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Digital Corsair

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 26, 2009
25
0
I've always wondered why Apple went with Helvetica instead of Lucida Grande on the iPhone (and eventually, the iPad).

Any thoughts?
 
Duh. :D

tumblr_kxwrov0yPy1qb5hf7o1_500.jpg
 
We're getting off track here, but Helvetica is a derivation of the Latin name for Switzerland, Helvetia, where it was created. You may be thinking of people referring to it as the "perfect" font because it fits nearly everything - it's used all over the place. McDonald's is probably the most prominent logo associated with Helvetica, but also American Airlines, among many, many others. Microsoft created the knock-off Arial because Helvetica is so successful, but they didn't want to pay the higher price for Helvetica.
 
Nice font, classic, easy on the eye. Tons of weights and variants.

Latest version is Helvetica Neue LT Pro

Still got a soft spot for Apple old Garamond font though!
 
Interesting thread. I stumbled across this documentary on Netflix a few weeks ago and I've gotta say it was surprisingly good/interesting/fascinating considering it's all about fonts and typography.

Anyway, give it a watch. You can watch it instantly on Netflix on the iPhone even. It's pretty cool and explains how/why Helvetica is basically the most used font in the world.

http://www.helveticafilm.com/
 
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