Letternews: Instead of Helvetica …

Neue Haas Grotesk™

Christian Schwartz and Max Miedinger for Linotype

If you’re going to use Helvetica®, use this one. Christian Schwartz’s recuts of the original design restore proper proportions and spacing to its text and display families and sweetness to its curves. Even with a no-frills character set, OpenType offers certain niceties like case-sensitive forms, fractionals, and stylistic alternates like a straight-legged R, tail-less a, and modernist ç.

Adelle Sans

Veronika Burian and José Scaglione for TypeTogether

Adelle Sans is a distinctive choice for editorial and publishing jobs that require an economical fit across a range of weights. Though serious, the face’s texture possesses a persuasive bounce and cheery tone. Eight weights from Ultra Thin to Heavy, each with companion italics.

FF Bau®

Christian Schwartz for FontFont

Originally a set of grotesks released by the Schelter & Giesecke foundry in Leipzig, the faces later caught international exposure when selected as the primary types at the Bauhaus printshop in nearby Dessau and used in experiments with asymmetrical typography. Christian Schwartz successfully translated the character and warmth to digital and gave it proper italics.

Bureau Grot

Richard Lipton, Stephenson Blake, Jill Pichotta, Christian Schwartz and Roger Black for Font Bureau

The Font Bureau’s definitive English Grotesque closely follows the eccentric nineteenth-century work of Stephenson Blake in Sheffield, adapting the design to five weights across an astonishing five widths from Wide to Extra Compressed. For editorial work, it’s a face full of punch that easily fits the narrowest gaps or most cavernous of columns.

Supria Sans

Hannes von Döhren for HVD Fonts

Supria Sans bridges old and new with a fresh take on the grotesque genre that’s informed by sturdy, squared curves and humanist touches. The family spans two widths, with three styles per weight: Roman, a too-cute Italic, and an optically corrected Oblique. Six weights in all.

Helvetica Alternatives Fontlist

Still searching? Take a look at these tasty selections in our Helvetica Alternatives fontlist. Find fonts that are almost but not quite Helvetica, and some that offer quite a different profile.

[email protected]

We are glad to partner up with Kerning Conference to give away two conference tickets to our newsletter subscribers. The conference takes place in Faenza, Italy on June 3. The winners will get access to a whole day of talks on type and web typography from speakers including Sumner Stone, Marta Bernstein, Gerry Leonidas, Jonathan Barnbrook and Mark Simonson.

To enter this competition, simply [email protected]. The contest will run from now until Tuesday, May 10, 2016. Two winners will be chosen at random, any recourse to courts of law is excluded. Travel expenses are not included. Prizes are not transferable or exchangeable for cash.

Become a FontShop Affiliate

Join our Affiliate Program and earn extra money from your website while affiliating yourself with a renowned leader in typography. By referring customers to FontShop.com, you'll receive a 10% commission for every purchase they make.

_{Trademark attribution notice
FontShop is a trademark of Monotype GmbH and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Neue Haas Grotesk, Neue Haas Unica and Droid Sans are trademarks of Monotype Imaging Inc. and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. Bau, FF, FontFont and Avenir are trademarks of Monotype GmbH registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. Helvetica and Rotis are trademarks of Monotype Imaging Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. ITC Officina is a trademark of Monotype ITC Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and which may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.}