The Complicated history between Arial and Helvetica

The complicated history between Arial and Helvetica

By: Ryan Lee

Although Arial and Helvetica may look similar, but there are some subtle differences to differentiate them

THE COMPLICATED STORY BETWEEN ARIAL AND HELVETICA

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By: Ryan Lee

rial, without a doubt, is the world’s most widely used font. It has been included in every version of Windows since 3.1, and practically everyone from professional designers and typographers to average users has seen it to a different extent. Even for someone who has no prior knowledge on typography, they still know what Arial looks like since it is the first typeface listed alphabetically.

The typeface bears a striking resemblance to Helvetica, an iconic geometric sans-serif typeface that was designed by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann

in 1957, and quickly established itself as a modern and progressive typeface with the Swiss International movement. From a distance, both Arial and Helvetica are virtually identical, even down to the stroke width; and it is this reason why Arial always ended up used as a substitute for Helvetica on Windows since Helvetica is only preloaded on Mac. In typographic world, using Arial is generally being looked down as “the guy who is too lazy to use Helvetica”, and Arial is basically scorned by most designers and typographers as the cheap knock-off of Helvetica. Does the typeface really deserve the hate? Without further to do, let’s get right into it.

1. Haley, Allan. “Is Arial Dead Yet?” STEP Inside Design. May 2007. Accessed February 6, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20110719133850/http://www.stepinsidedesign.com/STEP/Article/28763/.

2. “Twenty/20 - Robin Nicholas.” MacUser, July 8, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20090304143518/http:/www.monotypefonts.com/PDFs/Twenty20_080705.pdf.

The IBM 3800 is the world’s first commercially avaliable laser printer. Fact: It is as large as 5 refrigerators!

The world’s first laser printer and the birth of Arial

To start things off, we need to go back to the mid 1970s. This year both IBM and Xerox released the world’s first laser printer, the IBM

3800 in 1975 and Xerox 9700 in 1977. 1 Both companies needed more typeface options, so they open up biddings for company to create the font to use on their machine.

Linotype and Monotype responded to the bid. At the time, Times New Roman and Helvetica were the most popular typefaces in North America, and both Linotype and Monotype share the rights of Times New Roman that was introduced in 1932. However, Monotype does not own the rights to Helveticas; and as Xerox chosen Linotype as their type contractor, Monotype approached IBM to create an alternate of Helvetica to IBM in order to compete against Xerox and Linotype.2

Grotesque designs. The design of the letter ‘R’,’G’ and ‘r’ also resemble Gill Sans. These changes cause the typeface to resemble Helvetica in both proportion and weight, and perfectly match in width. 3The hand-drawn design, which based off of Monotype Grotesque [215], was completed in 1982 by a 10-person team in Monotype led by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders, and was digitalized by Monotype at 240 dpi expressly for the 3800-3. 4 IBM named the typeface Sonoran Sans Serif after IBM’s own manufacturing facilities in Tucson, Arizona, and the typeface was named after the region. Meanwhile back in Monotype, Development of Arial still continues, and in 1989 they developed a PostScript Type 1 version of Arial. 5 Little do they know that one year later, a company that will forever changes the course of history of typography will be approaching them.

Enter Microsoft, the would be catalyst for Arial’s popularity

In 1990, something that would forever changes the course of history of typography happened. Microsoft approaches Monotype to provide TrueType fonts for their new Windows 3.1 operating system. Amongst the four core TrueType fonts, Arial was one of them, and was advertised as “an alternative to Helvetica”.

Sealing the deal

With the deal in place, Monotype then started working on creating the typeface. Asides from the need of matching Helvetica, it also draws influence from Monotype’s own Monotype

Arial starts with an “A”, therefore it is on the top of the list of fonts in softwares like Microsoft Word, further prepertuating it’s popularity

3. Mark, Simonson. “The Scourge of Arial.” Marksimonson.com. February 21, 2001. Accessed February 7, 2018. https://www.marksimonson.com/notebook/view/the-scourge-of-arial.

4. “IBM TYPOGRAPHIC FONTS FOR IBM 3800 PRINTING SUBSYSTEM MODEL 3.” IBM TYPOGRAPHIC FONTS FOR IBM 3800 PRINTING SUBSYSTEM MODEL 3. February 07, 1984. Accessed February 07, 2018. http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/ShowDoc.wss?docURL=%2Fcommon%2Fssi%2Frep_ca%2F0%2F897%2FENUS284-040%2Findex.html&request_locale=en.

5. “Arial.” Wikipedia. February 05, 2018. Accessed February 07, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arial.

The exact reason why Microsoft approaches Monotype is unknown, but it is safe to guess that they went to Monotype due to their close connections with IBM. As Windows began to gain popularity with PC, the typeface is also getting a lot of exposure. In 1996, Arial is designated as one of the Web-safe fonts.6, and so Arial has became the household name along Windows, and enjoyed an unprecedented level of success and recognition, more so than it’s rival Helvetica.

In defense of Arial Despite Arial’s popularity, many typographers and designers despise Arial with a passion as they see Arial as a cheap knockoff of Helvetica for Microsoft wasn’t willing to fork out the licensing fees of Helvetica. Some even straight up calling Arial as a typeface that is “pretending to be Helvetica but trying to be different.”7 This accusation is simply not true, and according to Monotype director Allan Haley, the amount of money that Microsoft spent for licensing and the development of Arial is enough to finance a small country.8 And to Robin Nicholas, this accusation is just straight up abhorrent to him. When he was being interviewed

by MacUser’s in July 2005, he was asked how

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slightly slanted, whereas Helvetica has perfectly horizontal terminals. Another one is the letter R. Others, like “t” in Arial, has angled finials that is much closer related to Grotesque 215.10 It is these minor differences that makes Arial different, and far from being a cheap Helvetica knockoff because there are thought processes being put behind the minor differences.

The Conclusion

The whole debate of Helvetica vs. Arial is really pointless. To say that Arial ripping off Helvetica is like saying Rick and Morty is ripping off Back to the Future, or Overwatch is a rip off of Team Fortress 2. Both typefaces certainly have their merits, and to quote I Love Typography “If Arial is a rip-off of Helvetica, then Helvetica itself is a rip off of Akziden Grotesk; or we can simply say that they are both rip-offs of earlier typefaces.” 11 So instead of jumping straight onto a bandwagon and start to criticizing Arial like many others do, let’s just acknowledge the historical significance of Arial. If you do decide to criticise Arial, which is not without it’s fault, do so with a critical eye and not because of jumping on a bandwagon.

When you are working for a large organization, it’s difficult to stand on your principles.

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far he would compromise his artistic principle.

He responded that he would never recreate an existing font. Acknowledging that ‘when you are working for a large organization, it’s difficult to stand on your principles.” 9 And to be frank, there are some noticeable differences between both types too. For instance, the finials of Arial are

Robin Nicholas, along with Patricia Saunders, were part of the 10-people team responsible for creating Arial in Monotype.

6. But. “身邊的字體: Arial (上).” Justfont blog. January 02, 2014. Accessed February 07, 2018. http://blog.justfont.com/2014/01/arial-1/.

7. “The Scourge of Arial.” Mark Simonson. Accessed February 07, 2018. https://www.marksimonson.com/notebook/view/the-scourge-of-arial.

8. Paul, Shaw. “Blue Pencil no. 18 - Some history about Arial.” Paul Shaw Letter Design. Accessed February 07, 2018. http://www.paulshawletterdesign.com/2011/09/blue-pencil-no-18%E2%80%94 some-history-about-arial/.

There are subtle differences between Arial and Helvetica to tell them apart.

(Source: extensis.com)

Admit it, you are probably having a hard time telling the logos apart, do you?

(Left: Helvetica, Right: Arial)

Overwatch and Team Fortress 2 are two very similar team-based First Person Shooter, but to call the former ripping off the latter is unfair as they both have their merits.

9. “Twenty/20 - Robin Nicholas.” MacUser, July 8, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20090304143518/http:/www.monotypefonts.com/PDFs/Twenty20_080705.pdf.

10. Paul, Shaw. “Blue Pencil no. 18 - Some history about Arial.” Paul Shaw Letter Design. Accessed February 07, 2018. http://www.paulshawletterdesign.com/2011/09/blue-pencil-no18%E2%80%94some-history-about-arial/.

11.“Arial versus Helvetica.” I Love Typography. July 13, 2015. Accessed February 07, 2018. https://ilovetypography.com/2007/10/06/arial-versus-helvetica/.