‘Helvetica the NFT’ introduces the iconic typeface to the digital world

Over the past 65 years, the iconic sans serif typeface Helvetica has not only survived the many trends and styles, it has largely been at the forefront of introducing and ending them. Born as ‘Neue Haas Grotesk’ in 1957, the typeface soon became a favorite in the marketing, advertising and design industries. Influenced by H. Berthold AG’s Akzidenz-Grotesk font, Swiss typeface designers Max Miedinger and Edward Hoffman designed the new typeface in a neo-grotesque design. Adding to Switzerland’s reputation as an attractive center for ultramodern graphic design, Neue Haas Grotesk soon became an international favorite and was thus renamed Helvetica. Bringing the long-standing significance of the typeface into the latest realms and the digital world, Helvetica is now the driving force behind a collection of NFTs. The American type foundry Monotype, in collaboration with KnownUnknown, an emerging web3 creative community, launched Helvetica NFTa collection of NFTs created by two dozen artists and designers from around the world.

While typography and NFTs are a less explored combination, Monotype’s first ever digital art collection looks to open up new possibilities. Although each design has a different story, concept and style, the presence of Helvetica remains the same. The NFTs bring together artists from various industries such as graphic design, branding, footwear design and photography, and showcase a variety of different creations. While using Helvetica Now Variable, the most digitally optimized version of the typeface ever created, these renowned artists develop their own definitions.

“Typography drives culture and commerce, and in today’s world, artists’ ability to create new forms of expression and share them with their communities has never been more accessible. This collaboration has produced a never-before-seen art collection that celebrates the role of Helvetica in a new marketplace. Holders of tokens will have access to both the creators they admire and a growing community of design enthusiasts who are part of the KnownUnknown ecosystem,” said Alice Palmer, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Monotype. Due to its low environmental impact, Monotype and KnownUnknown partnered with the Avalanche blockchain to enable the collection.

By repeating each letterform, in different weights, Margaret Calvert, the typographer and designer who designed Britain’s road signs, created Helvetic infinitive to express the idea that Helvetica continues forever. “This technology is a wonderful thing, it allows everyone to have their own little font,” shares Calvert. Often described as “the master conjurer of the immediately familiar”, the influential graphic designer and partner at Pentagram, Paula Scher designed Blowing up #1, a display of the many weights of Helvetica from the thinnest to the boldest form. Indian artist Kunel Gaur’s Now presents “a tribute to the ever-busy communications landscape on the streets of India” through art. As he questions and defines the typeface, designer Toby Tinsley ‘?’. He shares, “I think this symbol is the most iconic of the alphabet. It simply questions everything. Without it, how can you question typographically?”

In a playful loop called 0-9the author of Letter variations, Nigel Cottier celebrates the iconic typeface and its instantly recognizable geometry. Sneaker Revolution by sneaker designer Vicky Vuong expressed the Helvetica graphic in temperature-sensitive and color-changing leather. “For this collection, I wanted to disconnect from our perception of Helvetica, as a modernist Swiss design. I leaned towards typographic experimentation, random composition and the study of textures. I wanted to emulate that Letraset effect digitally,” says Hermes Mazali of his H_NOW_WAR creation for the NFT collection. Adding to these creative expressions are graphic designers Kiel Mutschelknaus, Julian Montague, Jasmina Zornic, Phillip Kim, Gurlal Deep Singh and Chaoqun Wang.

Monotype type director Charles Nix adds to the list of commercials. “Helvetica is arguably the most famous typeface of all time. It is a natural representative of typographic form, but it is also a very malleable medium. The concept behind the design of the family was to create the clearest, simplest and most neutral typeface ever. As designers is this concept a dare or a challenge to create something remarkable from something designed to be unremarkable. When you review the entire collection, you can see the variety of visual expressions that each artist achieved using the same basic design,” shares Nix about the art collection and his personal artwork that encompasses meaningful words in a minimal presentation.

While all industries are entering the digital world, especially the Metaverse, typography is the latest addition. Along with presenting many more variations to a single element, digital art seems to be the tool that can make the statement “anything is possible” a universal truth. As society finds solace in the unrealistic world of possibilities, art, typography, design and architecture aim to find new niches in this space. By moving away from the limitations of the physical world, the digital world has unlimited possibilities and platforms. As everything moves from the physical to the virtual world, can the art, design and systems followed for years survive this transformation?

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