For Logo Power, Try Helvetica

(page 2 of 2)

"Every typeface is made to solve some type of problem. They're design tools. Helvetica wasn't designed with anything specific in mind. It was designed to be a jack of all trades," observes Tobias Frere-Jones, director of typography at Hoefler & Frere-Jones in New York, and critic at Yale University School of Art.

"Helvetica is so widely available. It has so many associations, namely to large corporate entities like American Airlines," Frere-Jones adds. "These companies stay with it because of the brand equity they have invested in the typeface. Plus, the font's forms suggest stability."

The Font Gains Foothold

Christian Larsen, curator of the MoMA exhibit on the history of Helvetica, says that the font wasn't a hit when it debuted in 1957, and that it took a decade or so for corporations to catch on to its potential for successful brand-building. The typeface even had to undergo its own bit of rebranding after its original name, Neue Haas Grotesk, failed to catch on.

"It's funny, the typeface wasn't popular when it was first introduced. It was a branding coup by the German parent company, Mergenthaler Linotype, which produced the typeface and decided to market it to the world at large," Larsen says. Once rebranded, "Helvetica gained speed internationally. In the 1970s, the font dominated government logos, after the graphic designer Massimo Vignelli used it for the New York City subway map and signage system. Soon, many brands adopted it, including Sears and Panasonic."

The main reason Helvetica proved popular was because of its sleek, modern style—an attribute desirable to companies wanting to market themselves as producing innovative, efficient products. Letters without serifs, the curvy flourishes on the edges of letters and numbers, tend to look more clean and futuristic, as opposed to more traditional, ornate fonts such as Garamond, which dates back to the 16th century.

Haute Helvetica

But it's not only established corporations with decades of history that use Helvetica as part of their branding strategies. Recently, there's been a wave of Helvetica use by hip, stylish brands.

American Apparel uses the typeface in its ads and logo, and on its storefronts and shopping bags. Japanese home-and-office accessory company Muji, a favorite among design fans around the globe, uses Helvetica for its logo, in bold all-caps. So does Japanese avant-garde fashion label Comme des Garçons. But observers point out that these usages tend to be ironic and subversive, rather than conformist.

"These designers are using Helvetica in a cheeky way. They're aware of major companies' use of the typeface and how the font is allied to the business world," Larsen says. This adds a modern, snarky twist—the graphic design equivalent of a hipster wearing a T-shirt with a pin-striped blazer.

Yet although American Apparel might be using Helvetica to poke fun at corporate culture by pairing it with controversial ads featuring scantily clad young women, the company has seen sales boom. Even when used archly, Helvetica is part of an overall branding strategy that's paying off, at least when measured by sales. The company says its 2006 sales are estimated at $275 million, up 10% from $250 million in 2005.

There are also ways to distinguish a logo while still using the typeface. Microsoft has cut a notch in the first "o" of its brand name, and Staples has bent the "L" to look like a staple.

And it's possible to "change the kerning [amount of space between letters] or use a light or extra-bold font to say different things about a brand while still using Helvetica," says Larsen. "It's almost like a template" for a corporate logo, he adds. "Consumers read the message, not the typeface. All you notice is the brand."

Click here to view examples of how Helvetica has contributed to various brand identities.

Jana is a writer with BusinessWeek.com in New York.