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Typographical, Yet Analogical

Four sentences set first in Helvetica, then in Arial, that read: If Helvetica is the typeface of the Man, Arial is the typeface of his secretary. If Helvetica is the typeface of forms and signs, Arial is the typeface of emails and notes. If Helvetica is the typeface of official signage, Arial is the typeface of the note on the office fridge. If Helvetica is the typeface of bureaucratic default, Arial is the typeface of faulty bureaucracy.

Yesterday, my friend Steve mentioned that the signage of Boston’s T, which originally used Helvetica, was slowly being replaced with Arial. It inspired this image.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 9:37 am and is filed under Design & Type, The Daily. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Typographical, Yet Analogical”

  1. chris r says:
    February 20, 2008 at 10:43 am

    Make a splash at the office with this blast of irony and meta-meaning by hanging this printable copy, set in both Helvetica and Arial, up at work. All you need is a printer, a sheet of letter-size paper, a ruler and an X-acto knife.

    It is sure to make your fellow employees think things about you!

  2. Stephen says:
    February 20, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    Well done, Chris! It’s going on our FontShop fridge now (beside all the Arial).

    You should send this to Mark Simonson and Gary Hustwit for their blogs.