Calling Arial just a bad Helvetica copy misses the point. Arial stands on its own as a typeface and has its own feel and nice qualities. It was made by really great type designers who were tasked to create contemporary neo-grotesque sans-serif typeface for digital screens. The constrains of digital resolutions of the time dictate some important details. It might be nostalgia or something subconscious but for many people Arial is the bland "non" typeface that they don't notice. If you want to achieve this effect Arial is the main choice. There is another similar high quality type family called Untitled and article explaining the thinking https://klim.co.nz/blog/untitled-sans-serif-design-informati...
Where as Untitled is trying to make even Arial more "super normal" i think this Areal typeface is in turn trying to keep the quirks and the nostalgia. In the end it is very subtle and the real reason for creating Areal is for sure customization and licensing issues.
But you just won't get the same result by copying Helvetica. Also Helvetica itself is not one typeface. There are many slightly different versions of Helveticas, with different names and redesigns. Some people will tell you why copy Helvetica when its just a bad copy of Akzidenz-Grotesk or original Neue Haas Grotesk.
Type people are obsessive and recreating typeface takes real skill and enormous amount time of time (even if you want to just copy). I think the authors know why they are dedicating the time to do it.
Where as Untitled is trying to make even Arial more "super normal" i think this Areal typeface is in turn trying to keep the quirks and the nostalgia. In the end it is very subtle and the real reason for creating Areal is for sure customization and licensing issues.
But you just won't get the same result by copying Helvetica. Also Helvetica itself is not one typeface. There are many slightly different versions of Helveticas, with different names and redesigns. Some people will tell you why copy Helvetica when its just a bad copy of Akzidenz-Grotesk or original Neue Haas Grotesk.
Type people are obsessive and recreating typeface takes real skill and enormous amount time of time (even if you want to just copy). I think the authors know why they are dedicating the time to do it.