Of Swiss fonts, Italian designers, and New York subways
Written by ForeignExchange Translations on Friday, June 17, 2011
Typography is so much more than what you see in a book or magazine. Typography lovers and design aficionados know that Helvetica, the font that changed the world and warranted its own April Fools gag, embodies this sentiment more than any other font.
Helvetica has become one of the world's most popular typefaces, and a new book highlights one of its most famous uses. Helvetica and the New York City Subway System tells the story of how the subway system, this most New York of places, became a realm dominated by a Swiss typeface.
For decades the New York City subway system was a visual jungle of confusing and often redundant signs in mosaic, terracotta, cut stone, porcelain enamel, wood, and paint. This began to change in 1966 when Unimark International was hired to instill order and clarity to the system.
If you want to learn about typography, sign systems, New York, and the dangers of taking anything (even Helvetica) for granted, buy a copy of Helvetica and the New York City Subway System.
And if you want to know more, take a look at the following:
- The New York Times' book review
- What's the difference between Helvetica and Arial?
- The life and times of a typeface - Helvetica, the documentary
ForeignExchange Translations provides medical device and pharmaceutical companies with desktop publishing in 40+ languages, dozens of DTP applications, and serif as well as sans-serif fonts.
Interestingly the underground railway systems seem to have had a unusual influence on typography. The London Underground commissioned a new typeface – Johnston’s Railway Type - for its signs in 1913, and the Toronto subway followed suit in 1954.
Matt