Helvetica Now

Monotype has released the first new version of Helvetica since Helvetica Neue 35 years ago:

Helvetica Now is a new chapter in the story of perhaps the best-known typeface of all time. Available in three optical sizes — Micro, Text, and Display — every character in Helvetica Now has been redrawn and refit; with a variety of useful alternates added. It has everything we love about Helvetica and everything we need for typography today. This is not a revival. This is not a restoration.

This is a statement.

It’s good, I think. A lot of what they’ve done for the alternative glyphs — like the straight-legged ‘R’ and rounded-dotted ‘i’ and ‘j’ — remind me more than a little of Apple’s San Francisco. I’m not saying Monotype drew inspiration from San Francisco — only that I think both type families are skating to where the puck is going for modern sans serifs. All of Helvetica Now still feels like Helvetica to me, which is exactly as it should be.

$299 for the entire family of 48 fonts, and through May 24, it’s available for just $149. An insta-buy for yours truly.

See also: William Joel’s interview at The Verge with Monotype type director Charles Nix.

★ Thursday, 11 April 2019