Is Helvetica Bad?
Helvetica is a classic and widely used font known for its clean and modern appearance. However, when a PowerPoint presentation created on a Mac is opened on a Windows computer, the Helvetica font used might not display as expected. This issue stems from the differences between how macOS and Windows handle fonts.
On a Mac, Helvetica is one of the default Mac OS system fonts. This version of Helvetica is optimized for macOS and integrates seamlessly into the operating system – like how Aptos does for Windows OS (although Aptos is not locked to Windows and can be installed on a Mac!). But the Helvetica available on Mac devices is unique to the macOS, and only usable on Mac devices. A windows device does not see the Mac version of Helvetica as identical to any version that can be installed on Windows. The files available for Windows differ from the macOS version in subtle ways, such as variations in spacing, kerning, and glyphs. Like any time PowerPoint replaces a font not installed with another font, content is not displayed as designed and things like line wraps can change.
Because the version of Helvetica used Mac devices cannot be used outside a Mac (such as on a Windows device), it should not be used on presentations that will be open on a Windows system.
But I have Helvetica installed (on my Windows device)! Yes you do, but it is a different version of Helvetica, and PowerPoint sees the Mac version and the installed version on the Windows computer as different fonts (and they are; remember, different spacing, kerning, glyphs). Same name, but different…
While Helvetica is a widely loved and effective font, its cross-platform compatibility can cause confusion when switching between macOS and Windows. It is not that Helvetica is inherently problematic, it is a good font. But rather the Mac version is only available on Macs, and that makes it a bad choice for cross-platform use.
An opinion from the TLC Creative design team