Akzidenz Grotesk

Akkurat by Laurenz Brunner
http://www.lineto.com/

fine and all, but these are _very_ similar. I'm looking for FRESH alternatives. I don't want people thinking "Is that Helvetica?"

Mark Simonson's Proxima Nova?

FF Bau. Galaxie Polaris

Neue Helvetica...

You could always go with Univers.

- Lex

It depends which qualities of Helvetica you are considering as definitive.

For Preface, I kept the grotesque curve shape, angle of stress, and contrast, but changed many of the letterforms -- producing a different colour/rhythm.

So on the "curve" basis I would discount Proxima (too round) and Galaxie (too square), and their letterforms are also quite orthodox.

Knockout 31 makes an interesting comparison with Helvetica Regular, as does Maple -- they are both very "19th century grotesques". Going in the other direction, of minimizing the idiosyncracies of letterform, you end up with Frutiger.

Paralucent is a grotesque with a couple of novel letterforms, and some interesting details.

Chalet is interesting, but it would require taking the "a" from 1960 (IMO the a is the quintessential LC Helvetica character) and putting it in 1980.

Helvetica Alternatives and the accompanying newsletter offering a free weight of Preface.