Rants & Ramblings

random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

may
09
2007

i hate helvetica

Looking at my traffic logs, I noticed that today I’ve gotten a surprising amount of traffic from people searching for the phrase “I hate Helvetica” on Google. They all land on my post from March about the SXSW premiere of the documentary Helvetica, in which I mention that I was given a button that says “I hate Helvetica.” One or two hits in a day using that search string are inconsequential, but I’ve had upwards of 20 today, all from different referrers, which is a tad unusual for my generally low-traffic blog.

And then I came across this story from the BBC today about the typeface’s 50th anniversary:

But not everyone is a Helvetica lover. Type “I hate Helvetica” into Google and there are forums for people who rage at the mindless “corporate chic” of this dominant font. They see it as a vehicle for social conformity through consumerism, shifting product with a great big steam-roller of neutrality.

For the record, I actually like Helvetica — when used well.

(And, now that I’m about to publish this, it occurs to me that in posting this entry, I’m probably increasing the likelihood of people finding my site with that search term.)

(BBC link found via Jeff Croft‘s blog.)

Posted May 9, 2007, 11:04 p.m. | Categories: design, oddities

10 Comments So Far

Bryan Murley wrote on May 10, 2007, 12:13 a.m.: #

I actually once worked with a designer (BFA in Graphic Design) who was one of those people. I used to kid her that hell was a place where everyone was given a PC and had to design everything using Times and Helvetica - it was a seminary, so the joke went over really well. :-)

Aly wrote on May 10, 2007, 12:35 a.m.: #

Ha — nice.

Though, if she’s on a PC, she’d actually be condemned to using Arial, the poor man’s Helvetica. So that hell you describe means she has to suffer not just a crappy computer but a bastardized typeface, too.

Kearns wrote on May 10, 2007, 9:40 a.m.: #

I like Helvetica too, it’s just over used. I hate Copperplate Gothic…

Aly wrote on May 10, 2007, 10:40 a.m.: #

Ugh … Copperplate Gothic. The thing is, it’s not necessarily a horrible typeface on its own. But years of horrible misuse / overuse have condemned it to Crap Font Hell, and at this point I fear it may be beyond redemption.

rudibagia wrote on May 15, 2008, 1:36 p.m.: #

i love helvetica! forever and ever!! why are you getting so worked up and getting your panties in a bundle about a font??huh? i mean are you like crazy????? i heart helvetica!

Aly wrote on May 15, 2008, 1:55 p.m.: #

Did you even read the post? :)

Dan wrote on Dec. 30, 2008, 5:58 a.m.: #

Nothing on this planet is worse than papyrus.

Shelby wrote on Feb. 12, 2009, 8:47 a.m.: #

Not gonna lie, I just googled the term “I hate helvetica” because of the article you mentioned, Helvetica at 50. I’m doing a research paper on it, and peoples opinions, and I was looking for some when I came across this!

Aaron wrote on March 18, 2009, 2:07 p.m.: #

Dan on December 30, I came to this page the same way that you did, and am also doing a research paper on Helvetica. What sources did you use in your paper, can you help me out? Tsok if you don’t see this.

Rahul Gandhi wrote on Sept. 14, 2011, 7:26 p.m.: #

Ya, it’s about perception.
Regards
Rahul Gandhi
http://pressbrief.blog.co.uk/

Add a Comment