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Agree that lower case is trivial due to the level terminal edges in Helvetica.

For uppercase, the tip offs are the following:

* The capital A in Helvetica is narrower (more isoceles and less equilateral)

* The capital G has an extra hatch on the right side (looks like an arrow and not an L)

* The capital R does not have a straight leg in Helvetica

* Conversely, arial chooses a non-straight hatch mark for the Q whereas Helvetica's Q hatch is straight.

This image provides a good overview on the capital (and numeric) differences: http://cdn.ilovetypography.com/img/gqr.gif

In the case of TOYOTA where it seems that kerning might different in two images, the heavier strokes in Helvetica should tip that off.




The perfectly round Os in toyota are the giveaways. I got them all correctly, except for MATTEL for which the only difference is the stroke width; and which I ended up flipping a coin for (incorrectly).

That said, I did get a degree in graphic design, so I may not be typical when it comes to this.


In MATTEL, the crossbar of the E is placed in the exact center.


Here's a nice graphic of Helvetica overlaid with Arial with the same font weight and kerning.

http://snth.net/~rlk/image/helvetica-vs-arial-2.png

In this comparison, the capital E's are identical, so perhaps MATTEL used a different weight Helvetica?


I picked the one with the longest distance between the T and the E. That was the wrong answer.

This quizz is an excellent training though. I didn't know anything at all about typography prior to taking the test (never bothered to learn the names of the fonts or their shapes), ended up scoring 17/20.


I have a degree in CS and did the exact same thing


I have three degrees in CS, and I (correctly) answered the titular question with "No", and then proceeded to prove it with 10/20 on the button.

I notice the differences (slanted terminals, narrower "A"s, etc.), but had no clue which was which. Weirdly, I'm super-picky about typefaces, but mostly in a "I like what I like" sense rather than a "I know the precise details about why" sense. I dislike both Helvetica and Arial intensely, and so never bothered to learn much about what made them different. They're both just fonts I don't choose for anything.


I noticed the round Os in TOYOTA also -- for MATTEL, the height ratio between the top two and bottom two horizontal bars on the E is more even in Helvetica than Arial.




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