Typeface Classifications You Need to Know Serif Fonts It’s also utilized by brands that wish to convey an aura of simplicity, modernism, and minimalism, like American Apparel, and Crate and Barrel. Some of its most famous applications are in official settings, notably New York City’s subway signage. It was created with the idea that it would fill the world’s need for a neutral font that would work well in signage. Helvetica is a sans serif font designed by typographic masters Max Miedinger and Edouard Hoffman in 1957 at the Haas type foundry, Switzerland. Create Designs With the Most Popular Fontsīefore we get into what makes a font popular, let’s survey the most ubiquitously used font of the modern era: Helvetica.Typeface Classifications You Need to Know.