So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?

#1

Post by AlexMuir » Sun, Jan 20, 2013, 1:11 PM UTC

So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?
ironicsans.com

Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?

#2

Post by jongold » Sun, Jan 20, 2013, 1:41 PM UTC

Ruining 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 leg compared to Arial's half-assed flaky leg.

Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?

#3

Post by keithpeter » Sun, Jan 20, 2013, 1:41 PM UTC

Nicely done. I got most of those wrong! Which is why I leave typography to typographers.

Suggestion: wrong response page has a small graphic that emphasises a difference between Arial and Helvetica. e.g. the shape of the top part of the lower case r, &c

Then you have a teaching tool...

Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?

#4

Post by ef4 » Sun, Jan 20, 2013, 1:42 PM UTC

I really don't consider myself a typography expert or designer, but I found that easy and got a perfect score.

There are obvious tells in almost all of them -- mostly lowercase "s", "c", etc, in which Helvetica is has perfectly level edges and arial is angled.

The only harder ones are some of the all caps examples like TOYOTA.

Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?

#5

Post by quarterto » Sun, Jan 20, 2013, 1:46 PM UTC

Yes. Yes I do. 19/20, and the one I got wrong was Mattel.

Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?

#6

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jan 20, 2013, 1:48 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?

#7

Post by reidmain » Sun, Jan 20, 2013, 1:50 PM UTC

ef4 wrote: post #4

I really don't consider myself a typography expert or designer, but I found that easy and got a perfect score. There are obvious tells in almost all of them -- mostly lowercase "s", "c", etc, in which Helvetica is has perfectly level edges and arial is angled. The only harder ones are some of the all caps examples like TOYOTA.

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.

Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?

#8

Post by speeder » Sun, Jan 20, 2013, 1:51 PM UTC

I am a designer (I mean, actually I am a coder that for some freaking bizarre reason got a design degree), and got a 19/20.

For "Mattel" my choice ended being random.

Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?

#9

Post by Alexx » Sun, Jan 20, 2013, 1:52 PM UTC

quarterto wrote: post #5

Yes. Yes I do. 19/20, and the one I got wrong was Mattel.

Yeah, the Mattel one was the only one that wasn't instantly obvious. Just happens to have the only few letters in Arial and Helvetica that are actually comparable. 3M was the funniest, looks shocking in Arial.

Re: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?

#10

Post by jspiros » Sun, Jan 20, 2013, 1:54 PM UTC

20/20. Mattel was the only one I was uncertain of, but the correct answer was slightly blurrier, due to it probably being an actual logo copy scaled down or up slightly, as opposed to a "freshly-made" duplicate for the purpose of the test.

Toyota was easy enough, as the capital "O" in Helvetica is more oval than round in Arial, and more round than oval in Helvetica.

I'm not a designer, I'm a developer, but I do enjoy typography.