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Where is "Helvetica Script?"
Hi gang! I only post infrequently, but I was puzzled about something lately and had to ask ... with all the riffs and homages to Helvetica over the years, hasn't anyone done a script version of the typeface? I assumed this would be simple to find, but after a bit of searching, I came up with nothing.
It seems to me that such a face could be not only beautiful (and in some ways, funny), but also fill what I perceive as a void of highly legible, non-expressive modern script faces.
I've attached a ridiculously rough sketch of what I'm talking about ... I'd love any leads to a face like this, and any opinions on whether such a face would be a terrible idea or not. Thanks!
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26 Jul 2012 — 6:30am
You should try! Keep in mind Helvetica is very straight-up and constructed, even in the italic. There are no traits of fluid handwriting, whatsovever, hence some of those shapes in your sketch have no business showing themselves in a grotesque.
26 Jul 2012 — 6:39am
Frank, that's exactly what interests me about it ... I completely agree that several of my solutions are bug-ugly; but I'm curious what a grotesque script would look like. I've been surprised by the lack of "straight-up and constructed" scripts on the market, and think that an italic Helvetica could be a great basis to build upon.
The only problem is, I'm not actually a font designer myself, just a passionate graphic designer who sits around wondering about these kind of things.
26 Jul 2012 — 6:42am
Paradoxically, there are script based on more geometric typefaces:
http://www.myfonts.com/search/futura+script/
26 Jul 2012 — 6:40am
Pay me a bunch of money and I’ll design it for you.
26 Jul 2012 — 6:41am
It's a funny idea, I like it! I agree with Frode about the cursive forms, but think there's potential even with grotesque forms.
26 Jul 2012 — 6:43am
Or maybe you’ll like this: http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/flat-it/ht-maison/
26 Jul 2012 — 6:46am
I once experimented with some grotesque swashes.
26 Jul 2012 — 6:52am
http://typophile.com/node/68809#comment-403798
Related to the main topic: someone knowns connected scripts successfully implementing a double storey |a|?
26 Jul 2012 — 6:57am
Riccard0, I like this, but it still feels like a "joke font" to me. That is, not something I would use for a number of flexible designs. I guess what I'm chasing is the (admittedly debatable) neutrality/universality of Helvetica in a script face, which I haven't seen enough of to suit my tastes.
26 Jul 2012 — 6:57am
If I had a bunch of money, Frank, we'd be in business already.
26 Jul 2012 — 6:59am
I love your grotesque swashes! I was not-so-secretly hoping Helvetica Flair would become a real thing. I know it's a gag font, but I have to admit that I thought it could be useful in brightening an occasional universal/humanist design.
26 Jul 2012 — 11:41pm
I am trying to resist from stealing this idea. :)
BTW have you seen "Pluto"? Some of his alternates have the flavour from your sketches.
27 Jul 2012 — 7:06am
Alexander, you're more than welcome to steal the idea! I'd love to use this font in real life, so help yourself. As I said, I'm not a type designer. If you're actually interested, we could draft up some kind of simple gentleman's agreement like a nod my way in the font credits.
27 Jul 2012 — 11:42am
Helvetica Flair
29 Jul 2012 — 5:47am
*blink* *blink* "..."
27 Jul 2012 — 6:10pm
*nods in agreement*
28 Jul 2012 — 1:45am
@smrvl
I will sketch some glyphs, and see what happens.
28 Jul 2012 — 3:02am
But I have to warn you that I am just an hobbyist
29 Jul 2012 — 4:49am
Hobbyist or not, you're a step above me, for sure! And Christopher, I wish Helvetica Flair were purchasable. I think some postmodern-ly expressive riffs on Helvetica are long overdue.
29 Jul 2012 — 4:51am
I just found this, which is closer to a cursive grotesk, but still not nearly readable enough for my taste. http://www.behance.net/gallery/Lullaby-Font/3860655
29 Jul 2012 — 11:31pm
what about this:
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Alecko-Typeface/2993193
30 Jul 2012 — 5:12pm
That's much closer to what I have in mind! I like that a lot.
31 Jul 2012 — 1:45am
After around two hours I of playing I started to understand why there is no script version of Helvetica - its most recognizable characters like a, e and s are very hard to "convert" to script form without losing their character.
The rest of the typeface has become standard and default and is hardly enough to carry out its flavour.
31 Jul 2012 — 1:45am
and also you have these horizontal and vertical lines.
31 Jul 2012 — 3:51am
This would be good Type Battle (http://typophile.com/typebattles) material, if they still existed.
1 Aug 2012 — 1:46pm
"...and also you have these horizontal and vertical lines."
Excellent!
Thanks for saving the time...
5 Aug 2012 — 3:30am
There's Lobster
http://www.impallari.com/lobster/