Helvetica Hegemony

Posted 26/11/2008 by jaimes

What emerges is a fascinating account of the process of standardisation in complex public systems.

These attempts began with unsolicited attempts by graphic designers in the 50’s to propose the standardisation of information. It was only later that Helvetica came to represent the face of that standardisation.

“It’s a big job. But for the sake of the subway itself and for the sake of the city it serves and for the people of that city it must be done soon.”

George Salomon, Appleton, Parsons & Co, “Out of the Labyrinth: A plea and a plan for improved passenger information in the New York subways.”

http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/the-mostly-true-story-of-helvetica-and-the-new-york-city-subway?pff=2