94- Helvetica - Business Design Teardown

You may not think about it often, but it's everywhere—on billboards, in your emails, on your favorite websites, and perhaps even your company's logo.

Yes, we're talking about fonts and, more specifically, Helvetica.

Our latest Business Design Teardown explores the iconic typeface used by businesses worldwide for over half a century. Created in 1957, this Swiss-born font has become one of the world's most used and recognized fonts. Today, we'll explore the intricate details that have propelled Helvetica to its iconic status. But that's not all.

We'll also pull back the curtain on Monotype, the powerhouse font foundry behind Helvetica, and many fonts that define our visual landscape.

How did Monotype come to wield such influence in the world of commercial fonts? And how do they monetize typefaces, an asset that most of us use daily but seldom think about? 

Together, we'll explore the combination of aesthetics and commerce that's turned simple lines and curves into a multi-million-dollar enterprise, including…

• How Helvetica was successfully rebranded to appeal to a wider English-speaking market

• Monotype's most crucial strategic move; from typesetting hardware to font distribution

• Why big businesses are constantly developing Helvetica clones (hint: it's usually to cut licensing costs!)

• Threats and opportunities for the typeface industry, including AI font generation and virtual reality

If you enjoyed this dive into the world of Helvetica, join our new Teardown Slack (invite is on www.d.mba/slack) channel and let us know your favourite brands using this iconic font.