• 20 Mar




    helveticaIt’s over fifty years old, it’s the most widely used font ever, and it has recently become the subject of its own movie.

    We’re talking about the world’s most recognizable font: Helvetica. Its relevance in design through the years and even today seems unbeatable.

    The appeal for a distinctive, professional and timeless typeface has never dwindled and it keeps gaining more followers day by day. Love it or hate it, with its multitude of styles and versions, Helvetica is here to stay.

    From airlines, to car companies to the largest software company, Helvetica’s use in logos throughout the world remains as strong as ever. In this article we’ll take a look at 40 excellent logos created using Helvetica.

    crateandbarrel



     



    aa3



     



    staples



     



    americanapparel



     



    lufthansa5



     



    jeep



     



    11267



     



    toyota



     



    postit



     



    bmw



     



    sears



     



    target



     



    microsoft



     



    panasonic



     



    tupperware1



     



    britishgas



     



    scotch



     



    3m-logo



     



    caterpillar



     



    evian



     



    skype



     



    energizer



     



    cvs



     



    basf



     



    oralb1



     



    harley-davidson



     



    jcpenney



     



    olympus



     



    kawasaki



     



    national



     



    dole



     



    bellatlantic



     



    tnf



     



    agfalogo



     



    gm



     



    motorola



     



    knoll



     



    digital



     



    mattel



     



    blaupunkt



     


    Have you seen other famous logos using Helvetica? Do you use this font in your designs?


    • http://blog.insicdesigns.com insic

      I like the simplicity of this font added by the creativity = awesome logo result. Nice list.

    • http://designwashere.com designwashere

      Great Post! It really has been widely used and by most prominent companies.

    • http://twitter.com/ItsHenrik Henrik

      Nice list, however, a couple of the logos aren’t set in Helvetica. BBC is infact set in Gill Sans and it looks like Microsoft is set in the bastardised version of Helvetica, Arial.

    • http://www.mccombs.me Adam McCombs

      While I think this is a a good start of a list, several of these logos are not using Helvetica.

      BBC, AeroMexico, Microsoft, Orange

    • http://mau.cristalab.com/ M@U

      Amazing! Helvetica FTW !1!!

    • http://weblog.luclodder.net Luc Lodder

      @henrik
      The microsoft logo IS helvetica, it sounds weird but it is. the end f is more curved in arial and the C ends are straight in helvetica.

      The BBC aint helvetica indeed.

    • http://www.webdesignerdepot.com Walter

      I messed up with a few, like AeroMexico and BBC, sorry everyone. I’ve replaced them and added DIGITAL, BLAUPUNKT and MATTEL to the list.

      I’ve been double checking the facts about Microsoft and it seems that this one is indeed Helvetica. Luc Lodder seems to corroborate this (thanks!).

      Although Microsoft commissioned Arial, they still used Helvetica in their logo.

      Thanks for the feedback so far! :)

    • http://we-design.it tobi

      Great post! Thanks!!!

    • http://www.webdesignerdepot.com Walter

      Corrections made where appropriate. Thanks! (Microsoft is Helvetica though)

    • http://www.tndmedia.nl TND media webdesign

      That’s great to see. In some cases you wouldn’t guess Helvetica is the font.

      Another nice question would be: what font is the most used font in logo’s? Is that Helvetica?

    • http://www.ediyang.com eddie

      nice LOGO,and I love helvetica

    • http://www.katenickerson.wordpress.com Kate Nickerson

      This is a beautiful, awesome post! Great job! I loved it.

    • http://twitter.com/ItsHenrik Henrik

      My bad! Thanks @Luc Lodder for the correction and enlightenment, though I still highly disagree with what Microsoft did with Arial.

    • http://www.ree-she.com Rishi Luchun

      Are you sure these are all using Helvetica?!?!

    • http://www.kaaliss.com kaaliss

      EVIAN is Helvetica? maybe the “V” “I” and “N” but surely not the “E” and “A”
      weird mix of font on this logo

    • http://weblog.luclodder.net Luc Lodder

      I prefer proof! Watch the difference in c and t.
      Sorry for the joke, couldn’t help it ;)

      http://static.pixelpipe.com/b2a9044c-8a34-4692-97e3-d94c6cdcadaf_m.jpg

    • http://www.byzone.org Fyre Vortex

      Nice selection of logos. Simple, memorable, and good looking. ;)

    • http://www.diligentdesign.net/ Corey Freeman

      Fantastic list. I think panasonic is my favorite one next to post-it.

    • John Oliver

      I love the site and the articles on it, but seriously guys: how can you class ‘American Apparel’ and ‘BASF’ as ‘excellent’ logos? C’mon guys.. they are type on a line and absolutely nothing more.

    • johannes

      afaik the mercure hotels use also the “New Helvetica” in all CI elements and logo stuff.

    • http://gabrielyanagihara.blogspot.com Gabriel Yanagihara

      I’ve always been a fan of the Skype logo, it matches the software’s persona so well. Professional, but fun.

    • lowell

      the fact that Microsoft uses Helvetica in their logo but won’t include it in Windows is somewhat humorous to me.

      things might have changed, though. i haven’t used Windows in almost ten years.

    • http://jyanet.com/fonts Jack Yan

      Quite a few custom jobs here where the starting point may have been Helvetica. However, Toyota is probably Folio—if you go back to 1960s’ brochures, you will find them set in Folio along with the Toyota logotype. But this is an easy mistake to make as these four characters are very similar in both typefaces, and Hustwit himself showed the Toyota logotype in his movie, I think by mistake.

      Motorola, Evian, Dole and Harley–Davidson are not Helvetica. Again, examine period work when the Motorola logo was created and it’s more likely other Swiss geometric sans were the starting-point; while Evian has been in Helvetica, the incarnation you show is not. Dole bears few resemblances to Helvetica other than coming from a geometric basis (if you were to discuss a starting-point, have a look at Lubalin and Carnase’s ITC Avant Garde Gothic). Harley–Davidson also seems like an original creation to me.

      Still, I accept your main point that Helvetica is very influential as a typeface family and it has a modernist ideal to it, which most of your examples reflect. I agree with this core point and admit I am only nit-picking for the sake of accuracy.

    • http://www.thuiven.com Dor Dan

      I’m impressed how many of these popular companies are using Helevetica in their logos. Nice post :)

    • http://spotmeon.blogspot.com Gaurav M

      Amazing one font rules very where

    • http://www.helenguttridge.com Helen

      Great list! I really love type only logos (a lot of which are in this list)

      I would be inclined (but may be wrong) to say National car hire isn’t helvetica (or a pure breed of) If you look at the ‘a’ in National Car hire, and some of the others – Kawasaki for instance, you notice the “tail” is different.

      Keep up the great work though :D

    • http://www.yimgo.com antonio

      Me parece fantastico, a mi personalmente me encanta la Helvetica.

    • Phild

      When I think of the font Helvetica,
      I think of Lufthanser, American Airlines
      & The north face type of application.
      I did not realize that
      Skype used it also.

    • http://www.apfelkuh.de/blog/ Manuel Graf

      Helvetica is a soft block-font. simply awesome :D I never thought evian was a Helvetica though ;)

    • http://www.patternhead.com Patternhead

      Nice post. Gotta luv Helvetica

    • http://taenzer.me Sebastian

      My own logo is Helvetica 85 – just love what you can do with that font combined with an good icon.

    • http://www.jonswerens.com Jon Swerens

      Is the Evian logo really Helvetica? I mean, look at that “e.”

      But a great post nonetheless.

    • http://www.logocritiques.com Erik

      Thanks for the nice post! I’ve always been a fan of the Crate&Barrel logo, I like the simplicity.

    • http://www.ihearttoptens.com Steve Reynolds

      Love this – Stuck it on IHeartTopTens.com : http://www.ihearttoptens.com/view.php?uid=29

    • http://pongsocket.com/ Andy

      Great collection, but the Evian and Dole logos are not Helvetica.

    • http://www.modestmessages.com Michael

      Nice selection. Who says Helvetica isn’t useful?

    • http://twitter.com/reachstudents Luke

      Good to see them all – thanks.

      Nestle is a logo, but its it an excellent one?

      For me, it’s one the most high profile logos that really needs sprucing up.

      That birds nest needs some renovation work.

    • affe

      are you sure the evian-logo is using helvetica?

    • t

      Evian – No.
      digital – No.
      Skype – No.
      Harley Davidson – No.

    • http://stopa.la taborda

      Nice post.
      But EVIAN is not helvetica.. just look at that “e”.

      ;)

    • Zach

      WOW! Great post! Really inspiring! More like this please! :)

    • http://n/a mbh

      You know hate it or love it … Helvetica just has this certain presence about it that just “works”.

      If any of you are interested and/or haven’t seen it… this
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhKKIXDypxk is a really good video showing the many faces of Helvetica.

      You almost get this feeling that if Helvetica was a building material you could build any house you wanted out of it!

    • Spence

      There’s still a lot that aren’t helvetica in this list. Look at the tails on the lower case ‘a’. There are some that go straight down and some that curl back (like Helvetica). Maybe call this article “40 excellent logos created with sans serif fonts”?

      Here’s what Helvetica looks like:
      http://www.identifont.com/samples/adobe/Helvetica.gif

    • http://applejuicechronicles.com simon

      i wouldn´t say that evian, skype and dole use helvetica in their logo. maybe they took it as base, but those aren´t helvetica any more. :)

    • Andreagam

      “evian” is definitely not helvetica. “skype” and “Nestlé” are helvetica-derived, but not helvetica.

    • Billy

      I don’t think evian’s logo is Helvetica based on the shape of the lowercase E. Not to mention the shape of the lowercase A is different.

      Pretty good list overall.

    • http://www.multiadaptor.com Chris

      Evian isn’t Helv either. Don’t think Jeep is, or if it is it’s been edited a fair bit.

      There’s a couple of others like Dole that I’m not sure on either, guess it depends on how how far you can edit a character before it’s no longer Helvetica.

    • http://grapefeed.org/ Fredo

      The Evian logo pictured above is NOT in Helvetica, though Evian was once set in it.

      http://vectorlogo.blogspot.com/2008/05/evian-logo-eps.html

      And I seem to recall Microsoft’s logo being set in Franklin Gothic; most of their products from Windows 95 through Office 2003 (I think) had text typeset in FG or some variant thereof.

    • http://torley.com Torley

      Eclectic compilation! Which Helvetica was the Skype logo made with, rounded?

    • http://grapefeed.org/ Fredo

      On closer inspection, I take back what I said about MS’s logo, but not the products.

    • http://www.graphicspirit.com Graphic Spirit

      Evian and Harley Davidson are not Helvetica
      But great post for a great font.

    • Justin

      Evian and Skype…surely not Helvetica, right?

    • http://blog.molanphydesign.com D Molanphy

      This is a good group of logos that use Helvetica, however, I would hardly qualify many of these as “excellent logos.” The brands are recognizable, yes – but that’s as far as it goes for me.

    • typ0

      Helvetica has been over played for generations

    • http://www.jaldagar.com/blog jonas

      Great post, i think Helvetica is a better typo, but personally i don’t like use for my jobs. Great!

    • http://dezinerfolio.com Navdeep

      Very nice list. Helvetica rocks!

      @3drockz

    • http://coudal.com Bryan

      The “C” in Crate and Barrel is not Helvetica, but the rest is. That always bugged me.

      skype isn’t Helvetica. Nestle’s not straight helvetica, but it appears to be based on it.

      I’m not sure if that BMW is helvetica, but I know they’ve used it.

      A couple of those (GM? Olympus? Motorola others?) might be Univers.

      Microsoft actually appears to be Helvetica (not Arial as someone suggested). I think they’ve been using that logo since before they unleased Arial on an unsuspecting world.

      Evian’s definitely not Helvetica, though I think it used to be. I don’t think the Harley shield is either, though they used it on the AMF-era Harleys (and the AMF logo is Helvetica)

      Dole looks like Futura.

      Sorry to nitpick, it’s a great list anyway, you just can’t do something nice without font nerds coming in and gumming it up, can you?

    • http://coudal.com Bryan

      I take it back, the AMF logo is not Helvetica, but here’s an AMF-era Harley with a Helvetica logo:
      http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/1975-harley-davidson-ss-250-3.jpg

    • http://twitter.com/ItsHenrik Henrik

      @Torley, yes I believe it is Helvetica Rounded:

      http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/helvetica/rounded-bold/

      (Though, Arial Rounded Bold comes very close too, aside from the “y”).

    • http://www.mskempster.com Matthew Kempster

      Lovely post.

    • http://paulmackenzieross.com Paul Mackenzie Ross

      Really inspiring to see these all using Helvetica or custom derivations, thank you. (The lower-case a in National… Hmm, that’s not Helvetica is it?)

      The discussion is just as fascinating too. Going to come back later and see how far this gets :)

    • http://www.webdesignerdepot.com Walter

      That’s what Helvetica is all about, simple and precise. Either all caps, lower and upper case combined, loose or tight kerning, etc… You see, the way you use it makes a big difference. Love it hate it as I said, some will see beauty in it, some will see nothing… and the debate goes on… ;)

    • mentalpotpourri

      I like TELUS. Also using Helvetica. http://www.telusmobility.com/

    • http://www.webdesignerdepot.com Walter

      Skype is Helvetica Rounded Bold
      Source: FontFeed

      There are some ‘controversial’ ones depicted in this post, and some may have been modified versions of Helvetica, like the Crate&Barrel logo (thanks Bryan) and some may be just wrong. I took a lot of these from the Helvetica film and posters showing Helvetica in logos shown at the Moma Exhibition – truth is that even these sources may be wrong.

    • http://www.fonts.com FontSmithy

      uh yeah, some of these are not helvetica
      just because a font is sans serif does not make it helvetica
      nice colorful post

    • http://www.chris-wallace.com Chris Wallace

      Motorola? Don’t think so.

    • http://mariuszciesla.com Mariusz

      Some of them aren’t Helvetica (Harley-Davidson, for example was designed from scratch, not using a premade font) , anyway – nice post, thanks for sharing.

    • http://www.taotedesign.com Vincent Le Pes

      I’m gonna have to go ahead and agree here…a lot of those logos aren’t Helvetica. Perhaps try running them through WhatTheFont? http://new.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/ Just an idea…you don’t deserve flak over getting some wrong, but you might get it anyway, since this is the Internet and all. Keep up the great work tho!

    • steve

      Energizer logo is not Helvetica

    • http://www.sametomorrow.com Adam

      I knew Helvetica was used a lot but I didn’t think it was used in all these logos.

    • http://www.logodesignguru.com/A/Logo-design-Articles.asp Logo Design guru

      These are such famous logos and they really stand out and look great. I think we all have had some sort of experience with these companies. They look nice. thanks for the post.

    • http://www.michaeladesigns.com Michael

      I see what you are referring to. I believe this is indeed helvetica, however it differs in some letterforms likely because the designer edited the path a bit to make the logo flow or fit better.

    • nameless

      caterpillar is univers

    • http://www.bigsnoot.com ellarose

      maybe it should have said:
      “4o logos using really basic sans serif fonts, with serious branding colors,”
      but that would have been too long.
      Point is, its about identity, and simplicity.

      happy friday!

      ellarose.

    • Graham

      Amtrak may be a replacement for some non-Helv ones. Version in background here, not the current one. http://www.stevestenzel.com/photos/amtrak.jpg

    • Forgar

      I also think the Jeep logo is not Helvetica. The “p” is way too off.

    • http://www.webdesignerdepot.com Walter

      I’ve been posting on whatthefont.com, to get more confirmation for some of the ‘doubtful’ logos. So far, some of these problematic logos have been identified as Helvetica:

      CATERPILLAR – Helvetica Condensed Black
      NESTLE – Helvetica Bold
      TOYOTA – Helvetica Bold
      JEEP- Helvetica Black

      It’s possible that there’s a lot of misinformation out there about this and it will be difficult to figure out who’s right. I will continue to pursue this and make sure that the selection here is as accurate as possible.

      I’m also making attempts to get more official confirmation. I’ll keep updating the post as needed.

      Thanks.

    • Forgar

      This is Helvetica Black over the Jeep Logo.

      http://s5.tinypic.com/mu8i15.jpg

      Anyway, nice collection!

    • http://www.fluxblog.net/franzferdinand_luciddreams.mp3 Scott

      not really breaking ground here, fellas…

    • http://www.chris-wallace.com Chris Wallace

      In the meantime, you may want to just re-title the post “40 Excellent Logos that May As Well Be Helvetica.” :)

    • http://www.webdesignerdepot.com Walter

      lol…. to be honest, i think it’s pretty accurate. Some of these have been tweaked and may not fit exactly the comparison when put face to face with Helvetica…. maybe I’ll just add the word ‘maybe’ at the end of the post :)

    • Conexion

      Sorry to see that a lot of these people are not reading the comments. Great collection here, and excellent collection of logos.

      Some of you people commenting are morons, really. Skype for example is clearly Helvetica. Just because the edges are rounded doesn’t make it not. Likewise for many of the other logos.

    • Conexion

      @Forgar- Adjust the kenning and thickness. I just opened up Photoshop to test the Jeep logo. Helvetica is a perfect fit.

    • Font man

      Um, actually most aren’t Helvetica – Nestle is a mix of Helv and Avent Garde, BMW, Target – Similar but every letter is different, Evian – nothing like Helv, Harley is Transport, Dole is completely different, GM is Trade Gothic.

      Don’t get me wrong Helv is a classic, just many of these are wrong.

    • http://www.kadaffy.com kadaffy

      Thanks very much for this article. I’ve enjoy every word!

    • http://www.samacreation.com sama creation

      Great collection and excellent collection of logos.

    • John Oliver

      I totally agree.. but while American Apparel may use a type face that is simple and precise.. that all is uses.. there’s no design process here, and no branding per-se. Sorry, but it just cant be classed as an ‘Excellent Logo’. Anyone who can hit keys on a key board could create this ‘logo’ in 5 seconds flat. There’s nothing excellent about that…

    • http://themeforest.net/user/kiziel kiziel

      Skype is not using helvetica :[

    • Steve Wirz

      Some of these are suspect in orgin, however, as a whole an impressive set indeed!

    • http://www.linkedin.com/in/mohamedalkafas mohamed

      Design and graphics are the blood in my veins, sites of experienced design attractive to the point that I made to this site and explore its roots. I hope to become one of the best websites designers in major companies

    • http://www.csshunt.com surajnaikin

      Loved the post & observations from all, there are things in Graphic design that you need to give a deep thought over it.

    • Poornima

      This is a wonderful compilation, although I definitely doubt( as a few others) if all of these logos are set in Helvetica. Evian definitely is not. I doubt if Harley Davidson is. I would also add keybank’s latest logo to the list. You must helvetica for rendering such unique indentities to all these brands inspite of being such an overused typeface in the web world! Nice post!

    • http://www.fleurchild.com Julia

      Personally, I’m not a huge fan of Helvetica. How can you label the logos above with using this font? I guess I understand what was meant to be said. Those logos use fonts that are variants of Helvetica. I don’t quite see the “practicability” of the font, other than the fact that it is clean-cut and striking. A font is font. Also, I question the “excellent” title given to some of the logos presented above. Interesting article though, it gets you thinking about concept of design in different fields.

    • http://www.whiteinkblog.com Youssef Sarhan

      as far as I can tell, jeep isn’t Helvetica. Anyone concur?

    • http://www.tonton.ca Nebulonni

      Helvetica forever

    • http://laranzjoe.blogspot.com lawrence77

      I love Microsoft logo!
      simply superb! :)

    • http://photorestorationretouching.com professional photo retouching

      really interesting article, but I doubt if all the logos are exclusively helvetica.

    • William Rice

      I don’t think ‘Jeep’ is Helvetica etiher. I played around in Photoshop for quite a while with that one. The ‘e’s seem quite different. They’re wedge shaped, Helvetica’s ‘e’s are more rounded. Would be interested if anyone else could demonstrate otherwise with a photoshop overlay…

      I did however notice that there are several Jeep variants out on the internet… some looking decidedly more ‘Helvetica’ than others. Perhaps this accounts for the differences in opinion?

    • http://www.gedyrivera.com Gedy

      I don’t think all the logos are Helvetica, but for the most part – IMPRESSIVE.

    • David Riquelme Lagos

      Es una de las tipografías mas usadas, y por las mejores empresas,
      habla bien de ellas :)

    • http://www.mogillmedia.com Mike

      Some of those looked suspect to me, but great compilation none-the-less. Thanks!

    • http://laqodesign.blogspot.com/ LAQO

      good post like it, and is cool to see how u can use one tipography style for so many and diferent companies, it´s great the use, and some of the are based in helvetica onli, but part of the design is that, make something unique:D

    • forrest

      Scottrade….

      I don’t know about excellent, but definitely Helvetica.

      http://www.scottrade.com

    • http://bluemousedesign.com Nicolaas Van den Broek

      probably mentioned above but skype is VAG rounded – and clearly evian is far from helvetica.

      Nice post though, good on u!

    • http://blog.dsignbeyond.com/ Amit Sharma

      The evian logo isn’t Helvetica.

    • meme

      And here I thought all these logo’s were Unique.
      I bet they’re kicking themselves now for having the same font as so many other companies. I know I would be!

    • sphereboy

      I believe Caterpillar is Univers. Not Helvetica.

    • http://www.visualboxsite.com Isopo

      Is this just for well-known brands? If not, I would have included http://www.visualboxsite.com, don’t you? Good article!

    • http://www.hawkinscreative.com Ghawk

      Microsoft logo is in Helvetica because Arial sucks :)

    • http://www.multidesign.com.mk Multidesign

      helvetica rules!

    • Raphael

      Seriously. Microsoft Logo is one of the worst of the most successful companies in the world. They could spend a little more in creativity and design…

    • http://10steps.sg Johnson Koh

      Excellent collection. I’m a heavy user of Helvetica :D
      But the “digital” seems suspicious to me. The “a” looks different from others.

    • http://www.webdesignerdepot.com Walter

      I’ve been double checking the validity of some of the logos that was questioned in the comments. I’ve purchased the book “HOMAGE TO HELVETICA” by Lars Muller and these seem to be confirmed here.

      DIGITAL
      DOLE
      CATERPILLAR
      ENERGYZER
      HARLEY DAVIDSON
      MOTOROLA

    • http://www.aledesign.it aledesign.it

      Simple and clean..is a perfect solution. Every time i prefer use this way for create a logo…is the best way! You can use everywheare! ;)

    • http://www.helvetika.it Manuel

      my life style!!! :-)

    • http://blog.codesignstudios.com Dennison Uy

      Why Microsoft chose Helvetica over Comic Sans MS is beyond me.

    • http://ivorpadilla.com iPad

      Great list, is amazing what this font can do…

    • todd

      are you kidding me??
      so many logos are definitely NOT set in helvetica. evian?? dole? is this a joke? a blind man could see that.

    • http://deszin.de/ Adrian

      the skype logo isnt helvetica i think

    • http://www.artistagrafico.net Luis Nieves

      helvetica Rounded is a family of helvetica

    • http://www.aporjuegos.com juegos

      I love helvetica! :-)

    • http://www.advise-art.com Advise Art

      great list !!!!!! love it !!!!

    • http://imjustcreative.com Graham Smith

      Regardless of the fact that a number of the examples are not Helvetica or pure bread Helvetica, it is none the less a great post that has sparked a discussion, fact faulting, debate and nit picking thread of comments.

      A interesting post is further backed up by the variation in comments, good or bad. And I love the fact that it has got people so clearly worked up over it.

      I personally love Helvetica and run http://www.lovehelvetica.com so posts like this are always of interest to me, even if not 100% factually correct. And it seems many people have learnt some new things here today, so its a win for me.

      If i needed to pick a fav, then it would be the Tupperware logo. Awesome colour, nice use of a heavier weight and a neat logomark make this use of Helvetica look very very trendy and cool. Not that it needs any help to look cool, Helvetica that it, but it looks more cooler. Bah.

      So whatever, neat list of logos.

      Graham

    • Fernando

      But BBC is not in the list. And Evian also doesnt seems like helvetica att all

    • http://www.pearlcreation.com Vaibhav Gupta

      gr8 list!! good job….

    • http://www.webdesignerdepot.com Walter

      Evian is listed in the Helvetica book, and BBC was removed as it wasn’t Helvetica.

    • fabry

      evian it’s a gill sans!

    • designtwit

      This is a great post. While yes, I love Helvetica, and everyone can pick apart whether it is purely used or not, the great observation of this post is how distinctive a name can be. Letterforms put side-by side are creating positive and negative shape to form a logo. Websters defines a LOGO as graphic representation or symbol of a company name, trademark, abbreviation, etc., often uniquely designed for ready recognition.

      Fascinating how ready recognition is market by kerning, italic, caps, lowercase, color and the nature of the name itself. Such small shifts in the use of a typeface can produce such notable logos. It is all about the abstraction of those positive and negative shapes that impact style. Sign of a GREAT typeface.

    • Sarah

      are you sure? I think Orange *is* Helvetica. Have you asked them directly?

    • http://www.gabrieldimartino.com Gabriel

      Great work!

    • http://www.webrecurso.com cLaK

      wow, great post, i didn’t know that all of those logos was created with helvetica

    • http://www.freela.ppg.br Airton

      Gostei do Post, bem legal!

    • http://www.bleedcreative.com Steve Lee

      I ran CATERPILLAR through ‘whatthefont’ and it came up as Swiss 921.

    • http://laranzjoe.blogspot.com lawrence77

      Who said like that!
      See they are OS producers!
      See the OS letters in that LOGO! ;)
      Its also a creativity man!

    • http://rnk.me Charles Alves

      The Mattel logo has web 2.0 style!

    • http://www.zenelements.co.uk/blog/ Zen Elements

      Fantastic article and really love the round up. I am quite a fan of Helvetica and it’s the application in these logos/brands that supports just why!

      I concur that some of these logos are/were not Helvetica but I agree with @Graham Smith too. I think an article with debate and discussion about it is always a win/win.

      Thanks for starting it and keep up the great work!

      Alex | Zen Elements

    • http://www.danhbaweb20.com/ Danh ba web 2.0

      Excellent post. Thanks a lot !

    • http://www.productionprints.com ProductionPrints

      Who would have guessed that Helvetica is so widely used. While most of those are variations of Helvetica , it’s one of those things you don’t think of when seeing those logos every day. Any hoot, very cool!

    • http://www.boraacemi.com BORABORA

      Great collection, great resource.
      Also nice high quality logos!
      Thanks for the effort.

      Best wishes

    • http://www.graphicmania.net rafiq

      Great post, nice collection . i like BME logo so much . it is amazing

    • http://a1rec@aol.com bryan

      me too

    • bryan

      dear writer designer of this presentation.

      your article is complete. very nice and VERY useful to me.

      Thank You.

      after reading the comments im reminded of what someone once told me.

      Opinions are like a**holes. everone has one.

      Your project is complete and good

      these opinions are ridiculous and voices of small ones

    • http://twitter.com/NetcomStudios Silver Firefly

      Guys, there are many variants of Helvetica available, and there are many ways of further tweaking the typeface for logo design purposes. So don’t be so sure that some aren’t based on Helvetica or aren’t based on a variant of Helvetica.

    • http://sitefinish.com Drew LeSueur

      Also:
      Quiktrip, Skittles

    • http://www.themerrybird.com Kristine Sheehan

      Wow! How familiar Helvetica is! Some of the logo’s don’t “seem to be” Helvetica but are… very interesting!

    • Lucas

      The Microsoft logo is indeed Helvetica. You may confirm this by comparing the “c” and the “t”.

    • http://mylogodesignworld.com fantom

      Helvetica Rocks!!! but i think all logos are not made in Helvetica

    • Jonathan

      Everyone should watch the documentry “Helvetica” I watched it the other night and it was fantastic. Gave great usage and the history of Helvetica.

    • http://www.calvinrosscarl.com Calvin Ross Carl

      The furniture company Knoll is probably my favorite:

      http://www.knoll.com

    • Ángel

      Design made by robots.
      Where is creativity?
      No other font exists?
      Welcome to plane mind creators land!!!

    • http://www.twitter/formula623 Michael Laborde

      I do find it pretty funny that Microsoft won’t license Helvetica for their operating system, but would use it for their logo. Shouldn’t they have used Arial to show solidarity… but that’s just me.

    • http://www.jason-reynolds.com/ Jason Reynolds

      Some really good examples here. My personal fave is the North Face logo. Pretty much perfect.

      Will Helvetica ever start to look dated? Probably not or at least not for a loooooong time.

    • http://michael-shirley.com/blog Michael Shirley

      I’m pretty sure I see a few Arials in there.

    • http://www.facebookster.com Adeel Husain

      Excellent list.. need some examples of simple typefont logos with some design elements to ad energy..preferably some rounded fonts for a smart fun feel. would appreciate some references.

    • maomao
    • Sidney

      Try Akzidenz Grotezk for a change—complicated, simple and full of character—, Helvetica is just an idealized version of this. Helvetica is to predictable and easy to design with.

    • http://corebasis.com Henning von Vogelsang

      Toyota was based on Gill Sans Bold. Evian was a design based on Frutiger, with strong changes to the letter shapes.

    • http://www.sebastianwaters.com Sebastian

      none of these logos are really remarkable or recognizable on its own because of helvetica. the typo makes them only interesting and good-looking because of the clear style the font brings with it.

      if you look closely at those logos you’ll know and remember them because of simple, but very important design edits and adjustments. from adding a design mark to integrating minimal modifications in the font (removing or adding). logos and brands like Jeep, American Apparel or JCPenney aren’t famous and established because of Helvetica.

    • http://nosatispassion.altervista.org/ elisa

      Your list is great and very inspiring. But I would prefer to see the logos at a slightly smaller size; that will help to see the logo better. That could sound as a paradox, but you know what I mean.

    • Khaleel

      Excellent!.. simplicity becomes a publicity!

    • http://empiredesign.com Thomas

      American Apparel uses helvetica, but it uses a slightly modified version of Helvetica Neue. The example on this page isn’t the real logo.

    • http://n/a _existencil_

      if you like helvetica, take a look at Alte Haas Grotesk… i think it is quite inspired by helvetica but can stand alone…

      http://www.dafont.com/search.php?q=alte+haas+grotesk&nb_ppp_old=10&page=1&text=Type+your+text+here&nb_ppp=10&af=on&psize=m&classt=alpha

    • http://corebasis.com Henning

      Alte Hass Grotesk was the predecessor of Helvetica. In fact, Helvitca was commissioned by the Haassche Schriftgiesserei (the Haas Type Foundry), because they wanted a more modern approach on a Grotesk font, what is nowadays called a Sans Serif font.

    • http://empiredesign.com Thomas

      Alte Haas Grotesk is just helvetica with blurred edges.

    • http://www.martiandesign.com David Platt

      Sweet. Great compilation

    • http://www.laborandcurse.com Michael

      Found this strange “Helvetica” notebook recently:
      http://www.flickr.com/photos/laborandcurse/3643147263/in/photostream/

    • http://www.decode.co.uk Jeremy Offer

      I’ve been inspired to use Helvetica on my new company logo :-) check it out….would love to hear you Helvetica gurus’ comments. http://www.dekode.co.uk

    • http://www.mushroomdigital.co.uk mushroom website design

      I actually feel like im commiting a bit of a design crime when i use helvetica as it is used everywhere! A very inspirational article which puts it in perspective for me. Thank you.

    • http://www.thehappinessmachine.com Carson Shold

      I just wrote a post about nearly the same thing! I have no idea how I didn’t come across this one earlier, but I’m glad I did. It has a few I missed, although their credibility seems to be in questions.

      Click on my name to see the Top 50 Helvetica Logos.

      Keep up the great posts guys,

      Cheers

    • http://cookwithnikki.wordpress.com Nikki

      Woah, awesome list!!!!!!!!
      I just started taking graphic design, and for one assignment we’re to hand print our title page in Helvetica, so I was trying to figure out how to do this… Glad I stumbled upon this list, now I have a better idea of what the font actually looks like!

    • http://marioav.nadamelhor.com Mario Amaya

      These logos are NOT in Helvetica by any manner:
      BMW, Evian, Harley-Davidson, Olympus, Dole, GM, Motorola, Digital.
      Please take them off the list quickly, to avoid spreading misinformation.

    • http://www.platinummango.com Jordan Foutz

      Less is more. As soon as companies learn how to execute this simple principle and get off of the papyrus train, they will see a much better result. Simplicity has served the folks on this list quite well I would say.

    • huh
    • http://www.holografik.co.za Yashvir Bagandeen

      VERY awesome. Just what I was looking for

    • http://www.image-restore.co.uk/ Photo Restoration

      They are some great logos here. It just goes to show that a simple type face can restore your faith in simplicity. Like a good photograph they tell a story, they remain fresh and bright in your mind like newly restored old photo. Excellent examples!

    • http://www.bendesign.eu Bendesign

      Great List of Logos using Helvetica. The use of Helvetica in Logodesign can be very manifold. Some of these Helvetica-Types are modified but still based on the same great old Helvetica Font. Thank you for sharing. :)

    • http://www.nedfinity.com Nedfinity Webdesign

      I agree less is more and helvetica is a great font for logo design.

    • http://philgear.biz/ Phil Gear

      Georgeous list of Helvetica logos!

    • http://www.mycorporatelogo.com Jessica – My Corporate Logo

      Sticking to the KISS method usually works pretty well, and Helvetica does this for sure. Thanks for the great list!

    • http://www.neomarketing.co.uk Gene Munro

      Is the skype logo helvetica? I think it looks a little to rounded… Nice list however… It seems that around these parts (Glasgow, Scotland) that Arial Black is becoming the new helvetica… I’ve had clients ask me to use it by name. Maybe they don’t know of Helvetica because it’s not on Windows machines…

    • Raf

      I think McDonalds is.

    • http://www.zeughaus.com Oliver

      Evian is definitively not Helvetica.

    • Raule

      Skype uses HelveticaRounded LT Bold no doubt about it.

    • http://www.santhos.nl Santhos Webdesign

      Hevetica is a great and simple font which can be very well used in logo design. Nice examples!

    • http://logotivo.com logotivo

      cattepilar & evian? this is helvetica?

    • Raule

      Caterpillar uses Helvetica Compressed yes, but that particular Evian logo it’s not helvetica.

    • Mark

      I’ve done work for two of these and yes Orange is Helvetica. We the BBC eat sleep breathe Gill Sans!

    • http://qzminski.com/ Kamil Kuzminski

      Amazing!

    • http://sumerasblog.wordpress.com/ sumera

      the logos are brilliant. simple very famous.

    • http://desaindigital.com jeprie

      helvetica is just great. i prefer to use it cause its well known good.

    • http://www.lovelogo.pl K100

      Font used i Evian, Dole, National (Car and Track Rental) logo is not a helvetica.

    • http://www.maak-mijn-website.nl Maak mijn website

      Nice selection.
      Specially the skype logo

    • http://www.erage.nl Webdesign Roosendaal

      I totally agree: I love how Helvetica is integrated in the Skype logo. The blue corners make the letters seem more rounded and playful. Excellent work there!

    • http://www.holidayinnorthumberland.co.uk Coastal Retreats

      Too many of these aren’t even Helvetica, check the e, nor is Helvetica a geometric typeface as someone else said.

      It’s a shame as you’ve done a good job of this otherwise.

    • sebbo
    • dcandy

      Amazing! font…
      Fonts rule everything…

    • http://www.willjones2k.com Will Jones

      Nice list. Some are not Helvetica. (as I’ve already seen posted)

      Thanks for the list!!!

    • http://www.photograph-restoration.co.uk Tony OBrien

      Yes Helvetica is: “distinctive, professional and timeless” I have always loved the font, but have often felt the need/pressure to use a variety of fonts in the studio. Good article thank you!

    • http://www.utopicstudios.com Adroid85

      The North Face and Lufthansa are my tops. Super clean and easy to read. Good collection.

    • http://psdxhtmlycss.com Psd xhtml css

      Nice post, and good helvetica logos

    • paquito

      what? man those logos are the best in the world.

    • betamakz

      Jeep is some version of Univers.

    • Quickmantra

      nice.. great job..

    • http://rifkiaansyah08.student.ipb.ac.idq rifky

      FANTASTIC!!!

    • Anibal

      I think that they are very simple and it makes people easy to remind and identify them…
      well you´re right… some of them are lack of design, but… mention one brand that you don´t know

    • http://www.raghav4web.com RAGHAVENDRA MAHENDRAKAR

      wow.. superb :)

    • http://www.mammut-medien.de Mammut Medien

      That is awesome. Thanks.

    • http://tavateaweb.com/ tava tea

      And I seem to recall Microsoft’s logo being set in Franklin Gothic; most of their products from Windows 95 through Office 2003 (I think) had text typeset in FG or some variant thereof.

    • http://www.cubixcreative.com Developers in DC

      I want some example on porches logo’s but this logo design are best and awesome.You done great work with this logo’s

    • http://www.scribd.com/dimitribsn Dimitri Santos

      One thing you owe these brands: they all can be recognized (and read!) from as far as an airplane window… I mean, you can scale it to the size of a nail head and it will stil work fine. When it comes to aplications of such wide spread logos, it counts for real.

    • sam

      it wasnt made by machines it was designed by hand by a team of men in a town called Muncheinstein Switzerland

    • Marcus

      This might be a little late, but I just stumbled over this post and I’m not sure if digital is actually Helvetica. I also found this post stating the same: http://vt100.net/dec/logo

    • Jay Rose

      Agree, Akzidenz Grotesk instead of Helvetica!
      But I might admit that at small sizes (from 8 to 5pt) Helvetica works better.

    • http://www.neubauer-daniel.de Daniel

      Awesome compilation. And most of these logos work in a vast variety of sizes.

    • http://baddonkeystuff.com Mike

      Great list, I was just going to write a similar post for my blog after watching the documentary “Helvetica” I netflix’d it last night…a must see for any graphic designer.

    • http://free-magentoextensions.com Magento Themes

      At least I got an idea for my log here, that is good side of this post.

    • http://www.benstokesmarketing.co.uk Web design Shrewsbury

      Ace logo round up – brilliant for inspiration – no idea the Toyota logo was designed with helvetica till now :)

    • sachin

      hi i like the simplification of logo design i would like to know about more helvetica font for logo Design again thanks………………….!

    • http://www.vacatureshelpdeskmedewerker.com Servicedesk vacatures

      This is truly and amazing font. A perfect font rules everything and makes everything look perfect.

    • http://www.vekta.co.uk Vekta

      Despite the excessive use of helvetica it never seems to go out of fashion and thats crazy considering it was first developed in the 1950′s.

    • DJH

      Lite a’s have a tail bolded ones do not – This is a Helvetica standard.

    • http://www.mortgagebrokertaunton.co.uk mortgage broker taunton

      Skype logo isnt helvetica. However, beautiful designs

    blog comments powered by Disqus

Home| Advertising| About| Contact

© 2012 All Rights Reserved