Etica, the-moralist-typefamily-project, was born at the end of 2000, but its development is ongoing, overcoming many hurdles and diversions. On one hand, the original idea was spurred by a certain esteem for Helvetica, in particular, its strength and versatility, and on the other, an intolerance to its plenty but inadequate applications; created by those who erroneously consider it to be a neutral and timeless design. We believe that Helvetica is a beautiful typeface, but very deeply rooted in its own era. It is often unsuitably used in contexts that have changed profoundly since its birth.
While my knowledge of typography is nill, I have it on good authority (font-nerd to remain nameless) that “this font has a lot of hinting data, and it’s all about hinting data… that and sub-pixel-rendering”.