"The first mobile device that I know of to use the typeface Helvetica throughout"
"It’s the first mobile device that I know of, and certainly the most elegant, to use the typeface Helvetica throughout its interface.
Everyone knows I’m a huge Helvetica fan, and you could sell me almost any device that uses the typeface, in part because there are no devices that do. But there’s a reason that this particular usage seems to signal something more to me."
What the ever excellent Khoi Vinh thinks about the use of Helvetica in a UI.
Yeah, but you know very well that it's only a matter of time before someone brings out a mobile device that uses Comic Sans throughout.
Microsoft, probably.
Posted by: davidthedesigner | Jan 24, 2007 at 14:02
But do you think that Comic Sans might actually become appealing one day in a kind of warped-ironic-kitsch kinda way? As in, "Helvetica is my favourite font" but actually written in Comic Sans!
Nope. Me neither. But scary thought though...
Posted by: Culture is King | Jan 25, 2007 at 00:13
What do designers think of Arial ? Is it one of those fonts they (ie. you) get snooty about ?
Posted by: TomLR | Jan 25, 2007 at 09:07
The kind of person who would use arial is the kind of person who would steal sheep (to paraphrase).
http://noisydecentgraphics.typepad.com/design/2006/09/we_heart_helvet.html
Posted by: Ben | Jan 25, 2007 at 09:27
What about.....Century Schoolbook?
(See, I promised you a comment).
Posted by: Will | Jan 25, 2007 at 11:48
OK - thought so - I knew I had read about it somewhere before.
OK then - what does one do when one does not have 'Helvetics' on one's machine (ie. I suspect a very high percentage of most people running abusiness)
...and
What's wrong with Arial aesthetically ?
I take your point about it being a substitute font geared for screen display - but what's wrong with it whenit's printed ?
And if you are to take this to your own logical extremes - I take exception to your description of 'print' as being measured by dpi (usually 300) - it only becomes so when designers get hold of it and start to force feed design through machines (ie printers) to suit their purposes - which is really just the same thign that suits are doing with computer screens. There is a pre-printer version of 'print' that doesn't use dpi etc - just solid ink.
What do you think of that ?
Posted by: TomLR | Jan 25, 2007 at 12:18
Wooooh! Shall I send in the Design Police ( http://davidthedesigner.typepad.com/davidthedesigner/2007/01/this_made_me_sm_3.html ) Ben?
Posted by: davidthedesigner | Jan 25, 2007 at 12:54
That would do no good because I suffer from the disease to a greater or lesser extent too. How about just an explanation ?
Posted by: TomLR | Jan 25, 2007 at 13:08
OK, that's Ben's job, not mine.
Posted by: davidthedesigner | Jan 25, 2007 at 13:22