No other city in America can take credit for helping our favorite font become a household name. It was in the 1960s that Madison Avenue first put Helvetica on the map—and not only by using it for major brand identities (Crate&Barrel, Knoll, AmericanAirlines, et al.), but also quite literally, when the New York City subway system adopted the Swiss-born typeface. Today, the Big Apple continues to use Helvetica in ways that underscore its ability to communicate clearly as well as its incredible versatility. It’s “the perfume of the city,” according to graphic designer and publisher Lars Müller. “It is just something we don’t notice usually but we would miss very much if it wouldn’t be there.”
