---
title: "Akzidenz-Grotesk (1896) — H. Berthold AG"
description: "Akzidenz-Grotesk was designed by H. Berthold AG in 1896. What it signals, where you have seen it, and how to tell it from Helvetica."
url: https://atoneplace.net/font/akzidenz-grotesk/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Akzidenz-Grotesk

**Akzidenz-Grotesk: H. Berthold AG, 1896**

Sans-serif · Swiss modernism before Helvetica existed. Sober, industrial, German.

This is the typeface Helvetica was designed to compete with, and the Swiss designers of the International Typographic Style used it for a decade before Helvetica existed. Akzidenz means "jobbing" — it was drawn for commercial printing rather than as a statement, which is the opposite of the reverence it is now treated with.

## How to tell it apart

| Mistaken for | Which letters to check |
| --- | --- |
| Helvetica | Akzidenz has more irregular, less unified letterforms; Helvetica's were systematically regularised. Check the lowercase g and the R. |

## The facts

- **Designed by:** H. Berthold AG
- **Released:** 1896
- **Classification:** Sans-serif
- **What it signals now:** Swiss modernism before Helvetica existed. Sober, industrial, German.

## Where you have seen it

- American Airlines' original identity
- Much Swiss graphic design of the 1950s

> This page describes the typeface rather than showing it. Displaying a specimen requires a licensed font file and almost none of these may be redistributed, so the descriptions name the letters to look at instead.

## Common questions

### Who designed Akzidenz-Grotesk?

H. Berthold AG, in 1896.

### What is Akzidenz-Grotesk used for?

Swiss modernism before Helvetica existed. Sober, industrial, German. You will have seen it on American Airlines' original identity, Much Swiss graphic design of the 1950s.

### What is the difference between Akzidenz-Grotesk and Helvetica?

Akzidenz has more irregular, less unified letterforms; Helvetica's were systematically regularised. Check the lowercase g and the R.

## Related pages

- [Helvetica](https://atoneplace.net/font/helvetica/)
- [Typefaces from the 1890s](https://atoneplace.net/font/decade/1890s/)
- [Franklin Gothic](https://atoneplace.net/font/franklin-gothic/)
- [Johnston](https://atoneplace.net/font/johnston/)
- [Futura](https://atoneplace.net/font/futura/)
- [Gill Sans](https://atoneplace.net/font/gill-sans/)
- [Helvetica](https://atoneplace.net/font/helvetica/)
- [Univers](https://atoneplace.net/font/univers/)
- [Optima](https://atoneplace.net/font/optima/)
- [Eurostile](https://atoneplace.net/font/eurostile/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)