Later, Haas merged with Linotype and Helvetica was heavily promoted. It was developed by the Haas Foundry of Switzerland in the 1950s. Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, one of the most popular typefaces in the western world was Helvetica. In fact, Arial is little more than a shameless impostor.
Arial, however, has a rather dubious history and not much character. With typefaces, character and history are just as important. Not that homeliness is necessarily a bad thing for a typeface. It has spread like a virus through the typographic landscape and illustrates the pervasiveness of Microsoft’s influence in the world.Īrial’s ubiquity is not due to its beauty. Arial is a font that is familiar to anyone who uses Microsoft products, whether on a PC or a Mac. If you don’t know what it is, you don’t use a modern personal computer. The Scourge of Arial February 21st, 2001Īrial is everywhere.