Oh, wretched, impoverished shopkeepers of the developing world! If only you could put down your weary, paint-splattered arm, and stop making handcrafted signs for your stores. If only you had the brilliant Swiss diamond-light of Helvetica. Enter your minimalist paradise.
At the Try Helvetica blog, Brazilian design firm NOONO (So, not really a colonialist thing) virtually redoes hand-painted signage. Out with broad brush strokes, in with sleek, uniform bowls, descenders, and spines. Perfect kerning. Swiss excellence. And the results look great! Sure, a bit of culture is compromised when plastered over with ultra-modern sterility, but Helvetica cares not for your indigenous charms, Brazil. Its titanium and porcelain fingers wipe your brow, and clench your throat—you won’t resist its typographic reach. Relent. And look great! [Try Helvetica via Laughing Squid]
