19/20 Mattel was impossible!
So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?
51–60 of 184 posts
Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?
#52Yes, the differences are easy to see, as everyone has said. But the important part is that there's a difference in feel and theme that's not really measurable and identifiable in direct comparison. The subtle difference is far more important than trying to identify the tiny details that don't really matter. And in that sense, this game (while fun and interesting) misses the point.
It's entirely measurable. Helvetica has slightly heavier strokes, which are finished at right angles or closer to that than Arial, and prefers verticals and horizontals in general compared to Arial.
Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?
#53As a programmer I got 11/20, so juuuust slightly better than random guessing. And I was trying so hard too!
Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?
#54Ruining the game for everyone; two things I love about Helvetica — Terminals at right angles to the stroke. http://c.jon.gd/image/3Q0y2u323j3C . Arial looks particularly sloppy with jaunty terminals. It is possible to have a similar grotesque sans-serif feel with offset terminals (see Univers & Akzidenz Grotesk) but they're a crucial part of what give Helvetica its character. - The uppercase R. Has a really strong le…
I immediately got 17/20, missing only the ones where there were no lower case characters. How do you distinguish between in these 3 cases? http://imgur.com/a/NOLoI
1) Completely round O = Helvetica
2) The C's. Helvetica = flat endings not slanted
3) Like a perfectly round O, the M's have more of a squarish spacing
Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?
#55Ruining the game for everyone; two things I love about Helvetica — Terminals at right angles to the stroke. http://c.jon.gd/image/3Q0y2u323j3C . Arial looks particularly sloppy with jaunty terminals. It is possible to have a similar grotesque sans-serif feel with offset terminals (see Univers & Akzidenz Grotesk) but they're a crucial part of what give Helvetica its character. - The uppercase R. Has a really strong le…
I immediately got 17/20, missing only the ones where there were no lower case characters. How do you distinguish between in these 3 cases? http://imgur.com/a/NOLoI
Kerning. If there's more uniform spacing between all letters in one picture it should be the original: "OTA" in Toyota, "THE" in The North Face and "TEL" in Mattel. But it would be hard without seeing them both at the same time.
Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is almost the exact experience I had. I got 17/20 and the ones I screwed up all had capital letters. I couldn't see any difference between Mattel and Toyota.
I answered 18 out of 20 questions correctly. American Apparel and Toyota tripped me.
The first difference I picked up on was lowercase r's.
Lowercase Helvetica characters never end on an angle. They are always flat and either parallel on the bottom or the edge of the screen.
Toyota was a pure guess for me.
Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?
#57I got through about 15 questions, had flash backs to the documentary "Helvetica" where it's just never ending stream of examples for 1 1/2 hours and couldn't take anymore. I'll take your word for it.
Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?
#58Ha, I remember taking this test quite a while back when I was obsessed with typography.
Took it again and got a 18. In terms of the actual font design, Helvetica always felt more "natural" and "composed," whereas Arial always felt much more focused on pure readability.
Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?
#59Check out http://typewar.com/quests/quest/1/
Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?
#60I got 15/20. What I learned from this quiz is I actually prefer the lowercase S in Arial.