Helvetica's Evil Twin, Hellvetica, Will Haunt Your Nightmares
Published on November 01, 2019 at 07:00AM
Freshly Exhumed shares a report from Fast Company: Hold your favorite graphic design tome close. We now know what the classic typeface Helvetica would look like if it came from the underworld. Yes, it will keep type enthusiasts up at night. The design darling Helvetica -- that ubiquitous sans-serif typeface developed by Max Miedinger in 1957, representative of the crisp Swiss design aesthetic of that period, and star of its own documentary by the same name -- has made a deal with the kerning devil. The results aren't pretty. They're not meant to be. Zack Roif and Matthew Woodward, both associate creative directors at the international advertising agency R/GA, have released a new typeface available free to download, Hellvetica, and it will make all your worst kerning nightmares come true. While each character has the same form as the classic typeface it's riffing on, Hellvetica utilizes inconsistent, variable spacing between each letterform to give an overall effect that something has gone terribly astray. Nope, that wasn't a mistake. You might just say it was intentionally erroneous. The project is a study in playfulness and rule-breaking, "an exercise in going against the 'designer instincts' to fix up that awful kerning. Hundred percent break the rules," says Woodward. "Don't listen to your gut. Forget your training... and make that logo kern in hell!"
Published on November 01, 2019 at 07:00AM
Freshly Exhumed shares a report from Fast Company: Hold your favorite graphic design tome close. We now know what the classic typeface Helvetica would look like if it came from the underworld. Yes, it will keep type enthusiasts up at night. The design darling Helvetica -- that ubiquitous sans-serif typeface developed by Max Miedinger in 1957, representative of the crisp Swiss design aesthetic of that period, and star of its own documentary by the same name -- has made a deal with the kerning devil. The results aren't pretty. They're not meant to be. Zack Roif and Matthew Woodward, both associate creative directors at the international advertising agency R/GA, have released a new typeface available free to download, Hellvetica, and it will make all your worst kerning nightmares come true. While each character has the same form as the classic typeface it's riffing on, Hellvetica utilizes inconsistent, variable spacing between each letterform to give an overall effect that something has gone terribly astray. Nope, that wasn't a mistake. You might just say it was intentionally erroneous. The project is a study in playfulness and rule-breaking, "an exercise in going against the 'designer instincts' to fix up that awful kerning. Hundred percent break the rules," says Woodward. "Don't listen to your gut. Forget your training... and make that logo kern in hell!"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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