There was a Montague and Capulet situation between graphic designers in Basel and Zurich with those based out of Basel rejecting Helvetica in favor of the slimmer and curvier Univers font, and Zurich-based designers adopted the simplicity and clarity of Helvetica.
While Helvetica was enjoying international success (well-known graphic designers were putting it to use for corporate identities and logos such as Otl Aicher for Lufthansa, Massimo Vignelli for American Airlines, and Knoll International, FHK Henrion for British European Airlines), in Switzerland it didn’t gain immediate success. His design emphasized horizontal stroke terminals, a tall x-height, and tight tracking, giving the typeface a dense and sturdy appearance. In 1960 the font was sold to the Stempel type foundry in Frankfurt, was renamed Helvetica (a name considered more marketable internationally), and became available on linotype machines making it accessible worldwide.
The typeface he designed was originally called Neue Haas Grotesk, and was presented to the public in June 1957 at the Graphic 57 trade fair in Lausanne. Miedinger wanted a font that was clear to the eye and could be used in a variety of ways. They were looking for a style that was more modern and legible than its predecessor Akzidenz-Grotesk, that had been around since the 1880. So, sans-serif refer to letters or typefaces that don’t have serifs). Their goal was to design a versatile sans-serif typeface (t echnical interlude : a serif is any of the short lines stemming from and at an angle to the upper and lower ends of the strokes of a letter. It was commissioned by Eduard Hoffmann, the president of the Haas type foundry near Basel, and designed by Max Miedinger, a Swiss typeface designer. As its name suggests, Helvetica is Swiss (from the Latin word for Switzerland), and is tightly linked to the cultural heritage and traditions of Switzerland.
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