It goes without saying that you won't get very far as a designer if you're not obsessed with type. Choosing the right font to use on any given job really can make or break the process and the factors involved in choosing one, from legibility to tone-of-voice, can have a massive effect on how successful your design will be at delivering a message to the intended audience.

Of course, choosing a favourite typeface is in many ways a ridiculous task. Some fonts suit certain applications better than others and it doesn't help to play favourites' just for the sake of it. That said, keeping up to date with the latest developments in typeface design, particularly in the digital age, should be a part of every designers’ day job, while at the same time having an encyclopaedic knowledge of the classics is also essential. So, without further ado, here are a selection of fonts that have well and truly stood the test of time along with the stories behind them.

1. helvetica

Max Miedinger, 1957

Over 50 years after it's creation Helvetica is probably the most familiar typeface in the western world. Used by brands everywhere not only as a logo font for household names like McDonalds and Nestlé, but as a standard for clean, legible body copy specified in a mountain of brand manuals. In 2007 it was even the subject of a documentary film, though if Helvetica were a movie itself it would be a Hollywood blockbuster, created to a strict brief and with a target audience clearly in mind.

The 1950's and 60's saw a massive resurgence across european graphic design of the grotesque typefaces created near the start of the 20th century such as Franklin and Akzidenz. Hoping to capitalise on this trend, font foundries began to release their own versions inspired by this period. One of these was Neue Hass Grotesk, developed by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann for the latter's Hass Type Foundry in Münchenstien, Switzerland. They wanted a font that would be as clear as possible while being devoid of any meaning, prior association or historical baggage. Only the Swiss could make a font this neutral but it's this very neutrality that made it suitable for a wide variety of applications – it's numerous weights and tight letter spacing were perfect for use in everything from body copy to signage where a detached, non-aligned tone of voice was required. Once its name was changed to Helvetica (the latin name for Switzerland) it very quickly became ubiquitous all over the world.

Though perhaps regarded by those in typographic circles as crass and populist, the U2 or Coldplay of fonts, like those bands though you can't help but admire the ubiquity, the sales and the unbroken decades of success.

2. TTC Romanova

The Type Collective, 2004

A real blast from the past here, and one which has the fabric of 20th century geopolitics woven through its very strokes. At the height of the cold war, spies on both sides were risking life and limb to smuggle military secrets from one superpower to the other. The story goes that on one of these occasions, a soviet double agent was able to smuggle a most crucial document all the way back to Moscow: an operations manual and schematics for the latest experimental model of the American Titan III Inter-continental ballistic missile!

As KGB scientists worked to translate its secrets they were aided in their efforts by the clean legibly and readability of the font used throughout. And, while the document turned out to be a clever fake (part of a CIA decoy operation to flush out Russian infiltrators. The document was then destroyed and the spy who brought it shot). The soviet generals were so impressed with the typeface that they immediately commissioned their own version to be used on directional signage throughout their nuclear military installations.

Until the breakup of the U.S.S.R, Romanova only existed in the cyrillic alphabet, after which it was finally was adapted for commercial use by The Type Collective in 2004.

3. Bollix Sans

Gideon Hawtrey-Lewis , 1976

A font that will be familiar to anyone who was part of the politically driven counter-culture of mid-70's London. Bollix! Fanzine was the mouthpiece of the anarchy-punk label W.O.T! Records and was initially distributed free at gigs played by the punk bands tied to the label (which famously included Situationist Zombie, Bromley hellraisers The Bombardiers, and the seminal Nasal Fuck Twinge). The publication instantly gained notoriety for its anti-authoritarian articles and its vitriolic live reviews, which led to many promising bands to call it a day before even releasing a record (some cynics have since claimed it was actually written by people who didn't like music at all, such was the all-encompassing negativity of their reviews).

As Bollix! popularity grew, it quickly became available for purchase. Enter graphic wunderkind Smells (real name Gideon Hawtrey-Lewis), a recent fine art graduate from Central St. Martins with a passion for underground youth movements of all political persuasions. Smells single-handedly designed the famous Bollix! masthead, which depicted the title letters floating in an upturned policeman's helmet filled with urine, as well as Bollix Sans, the controversially simple, elegant swiss-style typeface used throughout. "It was a reaction against a reaction really", he noted years later. "All the other fanzines were using cutouts, distresses, handwrittens, I wanted Bollix! to look like something you'd get from the gas board, yeah? Use their buttoned up, suit-and-tie, straight-laced oppressive style against them."

Though only running for six issues, Bollix! long outlived the label that founded it and issues now trade online for thousands of pounds among collectors. Hawtrey-Lewis, meanwhile went on to found MutherF*cker! Grafix, later renamed Hawtrey-Lewis Ltd. It was sold in 1997 to WPP for £1.25 million. Now 63, he sits on the board of several FTSE 100 companies including Centrica, Intu Properties and BAE systems.

4. Obergefreiter Grotesk

Matthias Gohl, c.1950s

This simple face might look like a classic example of mid-20th Century European Modern Gothic but take a closer look. Now, this is hard to believe but every single letter in that typeface has been drawn by hand! In fact Obergefreiter Grotesk is a testament not only to the patience and craft of the freehand typographer but also to the undying affection of a man for his one true love. A child prodigy, Matthias Gohl designed his first font at age six (complete with ligatures, symbols, cyrillics and ascending and descending numerals), and was destined for a promising career at the forefront of the Swiss International Style when he began work as a typographer in 1948. This career was cut short however when, on the eve of his wedding to his childhood sweetheart, Greta Franklin-Gothic, he was pressed into national service for the Swiss Army. A distinguished tour of duty followed and Matthias quickly rose to the rank of Private First Class (or Obergefreiter). But, as his unit headed home at the end of their final session of drill manoeuvres in South-east Asia, the transport flight carrying them ditched into the ocean.

The only survivor, Matthias made it to a tiny, isolated and uninhabited island in the south pacific by clinging onto the side of a cargo crate and it was here he was to spend the next 60 years of his life, having being declared MIA by the Swiss authorities. Upon being marooned his thoughts immediately turned to Greta who was back home in Bern and completely unaware of his survival. The thought of Greta experiencing that loss, that overwhelming grief, consumed his every thought and Matthias vowed to get a message to her declaring his undying love and pleading for rescue. Before he could do this however the perfectionist Matthias had to create a typeface worthy of Greta and the words he must write. So he set to work on his masterpiece. With his trusty swiss army knife, he opened the crate to find it contained approximately 500 reams of A4 foolscap paper, pens, pencils, rulers and a set square (part of a stationary delivery on board the transport and intended for Army HQ back home). Using the tools at his disposal he meticulously crafted the perfect font for Greta. Only the best was good enough to convey is feelings for her and finally, after 12 long years, it was finished. A modern, precise font that he was sure she would instantly recognise as his work, and which would be legible enough able to withstand the damage and distresses caused by the rigours of the long, aimless journey at sea. Most importantly, it had a timeless elegance worthy of the sweet, beautiful Greta, and he mentally christened the font 'Greta Sans'. The next three years were spent writing the letter itself. A pean to her worthy of the greatest sonnet. The words themselves were composed in just an hour, falling from his mind like bittersweet tears stored for a lifetime behind the eyes. That the letter took so long to actually write was down to the time spent crafting every character, every word, every paragraph using his new font. When it was finally finished, Matthias rolled up the letter in a bamboo shoot onto which he carved her name and address before sealing it into the leather pouch of his army knife. Then he stood on the shore of his lonely atoll, brushed it with a tender kiss for luck, and flung it in the direction of the setting sun...

Miraculously, the bamboo shoot containing the letter reached Greta not long after, but having long since married and being protective for the feelings of her husband she immediately burned it without reading, having recognised Matthias distinctive counters in the lowercase forms carved into the bamboo, fearing that it's contents could only bring pain.

Many decades later, an Australian cruise ship discovered a small deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. There they found a decomposing skeleton wearing 1940's military fatigues lying alongside thousands of sketches of single typographic characters on yellowed office paper. As a tribute the typeface recovered from these pages was named Obergerfreiter Grotesk, in reference to the only identifying marks on the unknown body – the aged and frayed rank insignia on the Swiss army uniform.

5. Fox Gothic

Isabella and Madison Fox, 1991

This font really is a rarity, though rarely seen by many, its legend is well-known to designers the world over. A mythical typeface which never officially saw the light of day and even now copies are only traded between enthusiasts in the deepest recesses of obscure font fanatic forums in a corner of the dark web. The story goes that, in 1991, software giant Microsoft were prepping for the launch of Windows 3.1, the operating system which would eventually lead the home computer revolution. Looking for an ownable alternative to Helvetica that would
be cheaper to license, they announced there was to be a competition, open to anyone, to design the replacement, with a prize of $1,000,000 at stake for the winning entry. This notice set the world of typography on fire and pretty soon every type designer, charlatan and chancer were putting together their sample alphabets for entry.

One such pair were the Fox twins, Isabella and Madison, two recent design graduates working out of Buffalo, NY. Both were victims of a lifetime of competition imposed on them by their underachieving parents. Growing up, not a day went by where they weren't viciously pitted against each other by Mom & Pop as though they were using their daughters entire childhoods to settle a bet made at birth over which one was better. Through a catalogue of spelling bees, beauty pageants, science fairs, sporting events and academic successes Izzy and Maddy were raised to see each other as the enemy. The winner would always be showered with gifts and treats by the doting Mr & Mrs Fox, while to the loser went early bedtimes, chores and other punishments.

However that was the past and the sisters were both now independent young women and were finally free of their parents 22 year-old experiment with game theory. Almost as an experiment of their own, Izzy and Maddy decided to put their rivalry aside for the first time ever in an attempt to win the prize. It's a testament to both their characters that over the past two decades neither sister could clearly be considered the winner, and they both felt the competitive streak they shared could only help to give them the edge in the type contest.

The girls set to work and it wasn't long before they had created a font that was a shoe-in for the top prize – the simple, readable Fox Gothic. A beautifully spaced grotesque sans which looked as good on the page as it did on screen. When work was done they decided to have a well earned night on the town, leaving the envelope containing the entry form by the ledge of the door to their shared maisonette, ready to be posted first thing in the morning. They partied long into the night. Being a pair of stunningly attractive identical twins (a legacy of their relentlessly competitive fitness and beauty regimes) they attracted attention wherever they went and eventually they paired off with a couple of guys, Joey and Jason. Going their separate ways with their respective partners (Joey wanted hot dogs, Jason wanted sex), they agreed that whoever arrived home first the next day would post the envelope.

It was Maddy who stumbled in first. Five in the morning with a face still smeared with hot dog mustard. She took the envelope and posted it. Then began their long, long wait for the results.

It was six months later and 9am when the huge, brown 1970s rotary telephone rang at the apartment. Maddy answered:

"Hi, am I speaking to a Miss Fox?

"Yes"

"Hello, Miss Fox. This is Bill Gates from Microsoft. And I wanted to be the first to congratulate you. Fox Gothic will be going live on Windows! Soon every PC in the world will have your name on it. And of course when we have your bank details, you'll be a millionaire!" Maddy squealed, and excitedly called to her sister upstairs. She heard Izzy creeping out of her bedroom as Bill continued.

"Congratulations again Isabella".

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gates". She corrected. "This is Madison speaking".

"My apologies". offered Bill. "In that case it's Isabella Fox I need to be speaking to. Is she there?" Instinctively Maddy's whole body froze, causing the phone receiver to fall out of her hands. She slowly turned to see Izzy stood at the top of the stairs. It was all so obvious now. She'd come straight back to the apartment with that guy, and while there had taken her sister's name off the entry form. Then, with the cruelest irony, left it for her to post herself in the morning, sealing the envelope, and her fate, with her own hand. Now Izzy stood posing with her arms folded at the top of the stairs as if it were now a winners podium and gazed down nonchalantly at her vanquished nemesis.

"Looks like I won" she smirked.

The ensuing fight between them was brutal. Twenty years of pent-up rivalry feeding a stamina in each twin far beyond that capable of any steroid or party drug. Behind each punch and kick was a rage powered by a lifetime of fierce contest. Of course, they perfectly matched each other with their fighting skill, technique and in an inspired ruthlessness when it came to improvising makeshift weapons from around the house. At one point even the disembodied voice of Bill Gates, still on the line, was used to dole out a crushed eye socket as one sister swung the phone at the other like a bakerlite mace.

By the time the police arrived you would not have known the two bloodied, still forms collapsed in street were twins and later even their parents, the unknowing promoters of this fight to the finish, could not tell which daughter was which when they came to identify the bodies.

The prospect of being involved in a scandal like this on the eve of world domination caused Microsoft to quietly bury the competition and the pre-existing font Arial was chosen instead, meaning Fox Gothic, the sisters' finest achievement, was consigned to the trash icon of history.

Written by
Senior Designer Kev Darton

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