Helfa
Light Italic
You need JavaScript enabled and the latest version of Flash Player to see this type sample.Medium Italic
You need JavaScript enabled and the latest version of Flash Player to see this type sample.SemiBold
You need JavaScript enabled and the latest version of Flash Player to see this type sample.SemiBold Italic
You need JavaScript enabled and the latest version of Flash Player to see this type sample.Bold Italic
You need JavaScript enabled and the latest version of Flash Player to see this type sample.Credits
- Designer(s)
- Delve Withrington
- Foundry(ies)
- Delve Fonts
- Release Year
- 2011
- Country of Origin
- United States
Background
Helfa is a typeface that has been thoughtfully planned, lovingly drawn, and carefully crafted by Delve Withrington. Although a new, original type design Helfa will at once seem like an old friend. With a range of five useful weights and five corresponding true italics all in OpenType format, Helfa is a typeface that has what is needed to do the job right.
Readability is baked in with a generous x-height, fine proportions that have a medium height to width ratio, and reasonable contrast in stroke weight variation. The letter shapes are individually drawn to be distinctive, not simply mirrored or rotated. The sturdy, bracketed serifs hold up confidently below twelve points. Helfa can be relied upon for setting lengthy texts at smaller sizes but is still readily applicable to a number of other tasks.
There is enough subtle detail in Helfa to hold interest at larger point sizes too. The stems are not straight lines but curve inward very slightly towards the middle. The serifs are subtley cupped and taper to a finish at shallow angles. The curved strokes have stress strategically located along the circumference and the wedge brush shaped terminal is a recurring feature throughout the typeface, especially in the italics.