Use of Helvetica

[Esh]

I'm no type expert myself...in fact I'd say type is my weakest point, which I'm constantly trying to improve/address...however...Why on earth does everyone use Helvetica for everything?! AArrrrggghhh!
I know is nice, neat and modern, and works really nice on some designs, but it's literally the first choice for everyone! Even going through my course, I noted that almost everyone used the same font in most, if not all, artwork, as if it was the only one that existed.
Enlighten me please, is there some kind of silent rule that Helvetica is the font to use or is it just a playing safe thing?

[Katedesign]

I don't use it very often....perhaps they don't have a big choice.

[Paul Murray]

Possibly because it's a safe font, ie. nobody's going to poke fun if you use Helvetica. Helvetica Neue is a sexy font for sure.

Plus it makes non-designers feel like designers when they use it :)

from albertus to zapf dingbats: the 52 fonts that you could use instead of helvetica - davidthedesigner

[SparkCreative]

It just works. And it's got loads of weights so you can use it for loads of looks. So it's become a tried and tested surefire way of making things look good. But you're right, it's always nice to look at alternatives.

[Toppers]

I try to not use Helvetica anymore as it is just simply everywhere.

This may interest you and help answer your question

Helvetica

You can buy/Rent the film from Itunes. It's a great insight into the revolution of Helvetica and shows both sides of the debate as to why to use or not use Helvetica.

[Hot Parsnip]

Helvetica is a great font but I know what you mean. For me fonts like Bebas and Akzidenz Grotesk (which was wayyyy before Helvetica) are a better alternative.