lt's that idea that something's designed to. The movie is is definitely directed towards graphic designers, and found it very inspiring to go into the graphic "business". . Coke. Given the importance of this trend, I would have liked to hear more from the public in Hustwits film. If you have a keen sense of proportion though, you should be able to see the difference. I have some writing background in the music press. Visuals for freedom of expression in Peru, How to create a vector character from sketch. It was 1976, when the advertising critic Leslie Savan published her piece This Typeface Is Changing Your Life in the Village Voice, showing how a font called Helvetica was overhauling the image of garbage trucks and corporate logos. you know, it's just there. The film subsequently toured film festivals, special events, and art house cinemas worldwide, playing in over 300 cities in 40 countries. lt seems like air, it seems like gravity. "Helvetica Quotes." There was a time when I was editor, publisher, and writer of a small newspaper in Spain. In this interesting little documentary we meet a number of people who are passionate about typeface design. | As a future architect, i felt close to many of what's depicted here. You have to breathe, so you have to use Helvetica. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th Must watch for designer, to add a perspective about helvetica. Fonts are almost like the air we breathe. One is a serious airline company and the other an irreverent clothing company. Several designers in this documentary say that it isn't so much the letters of an advertisement's slogan that matter much - it's the space in between the letters. As such this sat on my "watch this" list for over a year I'd guess, as a perusal of my queue always offered me something that seemed better or, if I'm honest, easier to watch. interesting body of work over a lifetime? Massimo Vignelli: You can say, "I love you," in Helvetica. Undoubtedly. And the Swiss pay more attention to the background, so that the counters and the space between characters just hold the letters. Offering a perspective from outside the profession, Savan talks about Helveticas social role in cleaning up corporate images. No unattractive font will stop me from buying a product I want or need, and on the other hand the most attractive font in the world will not make me buy a product I do not want or need. one of the artists of the Stijl movement. Directed by Gary Hustvit, the film is the first of a trilogy examining elements of contemporary design. Nonetheless he is a lover of typography itself and thinks that Helvetica has no personality. And you can say it with Helvetica Extra Light if you want to be really fancy. A whole documentary about one typeface. and it's just as fresh as it was . Because it's there, it's on every street corner, so let's eat crap because it's on the corner. They'll still follow the plot, but, you know, be convinced or affected. To expect an audience beyond the 20 of us that view fonts as a way of life and find the subject riveting will be asking a lot. Helvetica watch the design documentary here The second in our New View film season is a fascinating look at the most everyday of things: the Helvetica typeface. Helvetica (the documentary): a summary and an opinionated review A documentary about a font seems like a wonderfully geeky idea. and descenders and all that kind of thing. The packaging of the Blu-ray version was designed by Experimental Jetset, who also appeared in the film, and printed by A to Z Media.[3]. about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. But in the end, it is a fun little movie that has people loving on the 50+ year old font helvetica. The film is a magic journey through design from modernism to postmodernism. Massimo Vignelli: There are people that thinks that type should be expressive. The Helvetica font was developed by Max Miedinger with Edard Hoffmann in 1957 for the Haas Type Foundry in Mnchenstein, Switzerland and quickly became an What are you talking about?" And you can say it with Helvetica Extra Light if you want to be really fancy. the conclusion of one line of reasoning was, l can't explain it l just love, l just like, l just get a total kick out of it. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive the latest updates, exclusive content, subscription deals delivered straight to your inbox! It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. And they agreed. Miedinger and Hoffmann set out to create a neutral typeface that had great clarity, no intrinsic meaning in its form, and could be used on a wide variety of signage. It was by far, the most NOT-boring documentary i've ever seen. Actually, you do: Helvetica is a font, and this font is present anywhere and everywhere! The popularity and influence of the Helvetica typeface inspired director Gary Hustwit to film a feature length documentary about design, designers, global design concepts and how typography affects our daily lives; all based on the creation and proliferation of the Helvetica typeface. Inclusion of the font in home computer systems, such as the Apple Macintosh in 1984, only further cemented its ubiquity. It's just it's just there. Helvetica has been touring around the globe, often to sold-out audiences. Once it caught on, the typeface began to be used extensively in signage, in package labeling, in poster art, in advertisingin short, everywhere. However, it got quite repetitive and self-congratulatory so I can't give it a higher rating. It not a letter that bent to shape; it's a letter that lives in a powerful matrix of surrounding space. The average person would think it was very boring, but in fact, it was very fun and informative. Every day, all over the world, these people decide how best to sell us on just about anything they want to sell us on. l think that the whole image of modernism. Of Course Not. Or you just get this real whooo, kind of like, One of the things l've always really wanted. The slogan underneath: lt's the Real Thing. If you say to yourself, "80 minutes about a typeface?" As part of their jump to worldwide use, the name was changed to Helvetica, meaning The Swiss. One of the biggest things to happen to typography in recent years is hinted at near the end of the film, when Poynor talks about how members of the general public are becoming not just a passive audience for typefaces, but users in their own right. This typeface can be seen all over the world. And, corporate identity in the sixties, that's what, piles of goofy old brochures from the fifties, and all it implies, and this is what we're, they'd have a crisp bright white piece of, Can you imagine how bracing and thrilling, with your mouth just caked with filthy dust. A reflection about what our fonts say about us. But it almost seems strongerthe other way. | What's so important about the empty space? So in other words this would be the Swiss, l think Helvetica was a perfect name at the, So it was the best solution for Helvetica, Once we'd introduced Helvetica, it really, l mean, l don't think there's been such a, as the figure-ground relationship properly, and it was. As a designer for over 20 years, one would have thought that I would have known most of its history but, like the proverbial New Yorker who never visits the Statue of Liberty, there are interesting nuggets of insight that are quietly revealed if one just takes the time to visit. You are always child of your time, and you, and graphic design, if we still want to call it, And the classic case of this is the social, you care about the clothing you're wearing, or how you decorate your apartment-all of, Well, now it's happening in the sphere of, and there's no reason as the tools become. The process of creating a typeface fascinated the director, so he set forth to illuminate the underappreciated discipline. However, I felt like there wasn't much to this film. Period. . At that time, I studies typefaces to make sure that my paper looked as good as it could. Because all the letters . Helvetica was designed in Switzertland by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffman at a time after the war in 1957 when people needed a sense of order. It aired in January 2009 as part of the Independent Lens series on PBS in the United States. that Helvetica is a sort of global monster. DNA is just a couple of letterforms like that. WebHelvetica is a beautifully created documentary about the Helvetica font. Directed by Gary Hustvit, the film is the first of a trilogy examining . - this movie may not be for you. As many others have already said a documentary film that appears to be about the font Helvetica (or indeed any font) is hardly something that is screaming out to a wide audience or likely to be screening to packed crowds in the American heartlands. Another set of interviews including Michael Place reveal a third stance on Helvetica. A documentary about a typeface? Below is an edited transcript of an interview by James Pallister with director Gary Hustwit at the Boundary Hotel, Shoreditch on the 17 April, the afternoon after the ), Tell Me Something: Documentary Filmmakers. Helvetica isnt originalits based on an Palinopsia (Whats Up with Eagle and Serpent? Architects and designers from top firms along with influencers and experts will examine strengths and weaknesses of current design thinking and practices, exploring issues like research, technology, and wellness. And it's hard to get your head around, it's that big. Helvetica is a neo-grotesque or realist design, one influenced by the famous 19th century typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk and other German and Swiss designs. The focus is on the development of the Helvetica typeface, but the discussion broadens to treat of graphic design in general and what it says about our culture. We finally arrive at a bank of files containing precise drawings of the letterforms (Helvetica is in binder 24). It is interesting how many subcultures there are concerning topics that most people rarely think about--model trains, Shaker furniture, Stone Age tools, and so forth. the influences in graphic design were like, lt's only after that we really looked at Josef, When we started the office we really said, When it comes to type, we will only use, if. The maker wanted to so something new, something different. Some of his subjects praise the clarity and versatility of Helvetica, while others bristle at how overused it is. You can't do better design with a computer. all those problems aren't going to spill over, What l like is if this very serious typeface. By what name was Helvetica (2007) officially released in Canada in English? Type is saying things to us all the time. Helvetica was created in the year 1957 and was originally named Neue Haas Grotesk. I love the subject matter! Interviewees inHelveticainclude some of the most illustrious and innovative names in the design world, including Erik Spiekermann, Matthew Carter, Massimo Vignelli, Wim Crouwel, Hermann Zapf, Neville Brody, Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Bierut, David Carson, Paula Scher, Jonathan Hoefler, Tobias Frere-Jones, Experimental Jetset, Michael C. Place, Norm, Alfred Hoffmann, Mike Parker, Bruno Steinert, Otmar Hoefer, Leslie Savan, Rick Poynor, and Lars Mller. Savan makes several appearances in Gary Hustwits new film Helvetica, a feature-length documentary that uses the legendary typeface to weave a broader story about typography, graphic design, and visual culture in the last half-century. Leslie Savan: Helvetica has almost like a perfect balance of push and pull in its letters. Tobias Frere-Jones: The sort of classical modernist line on how aware a reader should be of a typeface is that they shouldn't be aware of it at all. l'm a Gemini, l had my birthday yesterday, So l have this horrible thing, which comes, They're never perfect. I saw this film last night at the Rochester Institute of Technology in the company of hundreds of budding graphic designers, new media specialists, and fans of typography. Watch Helvetica here. I was just experimenting, really. than any other one, and that's Helvetica. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the birth of Helvetica, director Gary Hustwit released his documentary film about this typeface and the design legacy that came along with it. I think typography is similar to that, where a designer choosing typefaces is essentially a casting director. probably better than l can explain it now, is that basically there was this group that. What they do is more than just logos and corporate branding - they design the type that we read every day in newspapers and magazines, onscreen and on television. . See production, box office & company info. The one bad review notwithstanding this is an honest, insightful film about the most ubiquitous of fonts, Helvetica. 2023. . Massimo Vignelli: You can say, "I love you," in Helvetica. Awards WebHelvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. The marketing director at Stempel had the, This is very important: Helvetia is the Latin, You cannot call a typeface after the name. It was subsequently broadcast on networks in 15 other countries. It is indeed a film about looking, as the camera repeatedly picks out the fonts beloved characters in various states of well-being, from crisp new highway signs to letters peeling off the Berlin Wall. The creative processes of some of the worlds most influential product designers shows how the things they make impact our lives. O, and one more thing, I wrote this in Times New Roman, so take that Helvetica. Of course not. Originally named Neue Haas Grotesk (New Haas Grotesque), it was rapidly licensed by Linotype and renamed Helvetica in 1960, being similar to the Latin adjective for Switzerland, Helvetia. it wasn't intended to be this cool thing, Well, we are less obsessed with Helvetica. of seemed there was only one trick in town, but it seemed like Helvetica had just been, and associated with so many big, faceless, that it had lost all its capacity even, to my, that this way of designing is imposing on. Unfortunately, the documentary doesn't try to extend the abilities of the filmmakers to any degree whatsoever. People talk about the font, the history, the meaning and the significance of helvetica. their sense that they had something to say. The New York Sun editor Steve Dollar claimed the movie was "more compelling than might be imagined."[2]. Michael Bierut: It's The Real Thing. There's no choice. So he said, why don't you call it Helvetica. The Econ Extra Credit team sat down with David Brancaccio to ask him what he thought of the eponymous documentary. lt's . Helveticaencompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day. As someone who studies ubiquitous socio l lived in that period. point where we accepted that it's just there. lt had its original, and his method of doing that was sort of to, than you might just assume by reading in a, You can easily say this was a joint product, But boy could you see his mind at work on, what it's all about is the interrelationship of, with the black if you like, with the inked. Helvetica is a documentary that interviews many graphic designers involved in the history or modern usage of the Helvetica typeface. Gary Hustwit's 2007 documentary "Helvetica" is a film I was introduced to in a college Image class last semester. Beyond her commentary, however, Helvetica is largely an insiders view of the font. Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day. As a designer you will know Helvetica as soon as you see it, if you are not a designer then you will be surprised to know just how much of Helvetica we see every single day. A feature-length film directed by Gary Hustwit was released in 2007 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the typeface's introduction in 1957. https://www.quotes.net/movies/helvetica_125195, https://www.quotes.net/movies/helvetica_quotes_125195. Drink Coke, That is a quality they all want to convey. At about the 45-ish minute mark, those not too into the world of graphic design might start to feel the film is repetitive. Compare the logos of American Airlines and American Apparel. You can watch it here, via Documentary Lovers. We live in a media-saturated environment that exposes us to a daily stream of visual information, and the typography that shapes these visual messages can determine how we respond. that most people would just gloss over, l, The biggest thing for me in terms of design, is to get a sort of emotional response from. I kept wondering as I watched how the film would speak to nondesigners. WebHelvetica documentary feature - 2007 - 80 minutes Helvetica is a feature-length documentary about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. There's nothing ''extramarital'' about that. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will I think that's where we, the consumers, are allowed to fill in the blank with our own wishes and dreams for whatever product or politician is being shown to us at that moment. That there are other fonts with greater history, lovelier curves, and more interesting pedigrees seems not to matter. Their subjects lend a nice sense of immediacy to their dialogs without being too on the edge or too indulgent (save one). A Highly Unusual and Insightful Documentary, Engaging and accessible documentary with good structure and contributors. Other people look at bottles of wine or whatever, or, you know, girls' bottoms. All of us, l would suggest, are prompted in, a particular typographic choices used on a, is just, l like the look of that, that feels. The historical evolution of many of the conceptions, common conceptions, on what architecture should be, or, it seems, how graphical design should be faced, is quite similar. It asks easy answers and delivers easy homilies, much like its subject matter safe and accepted and common. I mean you can't imagine anything moving; it is so firm. l want to go a little bit bigger scale now. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. And that perfect balance sort of is saying to us - well it's not sort of, it *is* saying to us - "don't worry, any of the problems that you're having, or the problems in the world, or problems getting through the subway, or finding a bathroom all those problem aren't going to spill over, they'll be contained. In addition to showing at AIGA chapter events and schools of art and design, the Hoffmann commissioned a former type salesman and freelance designer, Max Miedinger to draw a new typeface based on the nineteenth-century German workhorse Akzidenz Grotesk. accessible, transparent, and accountable, Designers, and l think even readers, invest, And it's not just a matter of the weight they. Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. Designers also point out typographic "bad habits" from earlier works around the 1950s which Helvetica tried to fix. After Helvetica comes Objectified about Industrial Design and then Urbanized about architecture and urban design. lt's very hard to do the more subjective, But if l bring the same group off the street, and say, ''Okay, now let's interpret that, that nobody else could go. Q: David, you werent a newcomer to Helvetica, They didn't know what they were caring for. l've done other people's wedding invites. Those decisions you make become expressions of who you are.. of course, that some people thought that's, people using only three or four typefaces, l think this could be interesting to do for a, Yes, you could probably do it, but for one, and for the second would it really yield an. l mean you can't imagine anything moving; it's a letter that lives in a powerful matrix of. It's like being asked what you think about off-white paint. It's just there. Jonathan Hoefler: And Helvetica maybe says everything, and that's perhaps part of its appeal. I'm not entirely sure of anyone except maybe the people involved in making this film or in a related field need 80 minutes worth of information on Helvetica. Helvetica, ostensibly a film about a typeface, delves into the world of graphic arts and takes a deeper look into style changes and the controversies over the role of the graphic designer since World War II. Helvetica is a 2007 documentary about the font directed by Gary Hustwitt; that goes through the history of the font. Certain bands l buy. It is the space between the blacks that really makes it.) Later we learn about Helveticas birth in 1957 as the brainchild of Eduard Hoffmann, director of the Haas Type Foundry, in Mnchenstein, Switzerland. He doesnt believe that the typography needs to say what the word says, it only needs to be a clean visual of the word. at the point that you start out in history, without knowing that you're starting out in, and you certainly don't know what's going, l felt like, this was some conspiracy of my, Hey, l got some printouts of the stuff from, because l viewed the big corporations that, What looked cool to me at that point were, Pushpin Studios was the height of, at the, everybody's ambition. The interviewees are either Helvetica lovers or Helvetica haters, some are avid Helvetica users that now have moved on to other creative ideas but still give Helvetica an important position in their design journey. They give words a certain coloring. But, for better or for worse, in this age of political correctness, we tend rise to our lowest expectation, and Helvetica stands ready to take the challenge. l'm not one of those people who is a real, l don't know all the fancy words for all the. An interesting film if you are a total geek such as I am, but if you are looking for Rock XX this probably wont entertain you. You know, that's called an army. Learn more about funding opportunities with ITVS. l did a little credit to give thanks to Max, But my wife vetoed that; l had to take it off, l think l fell into the step of Helvetica when, And l really enjoy the challenge of making. work that was as inspiring as their work, And l wanted to make work that looked like, and l'd go to the local art store, l'd go to, album the way l thought it was supposed to, properly and thing would crackle and break, And Zagorski told me to let go of the press, l realized that type had spirit and could, that it was its own palate, a broad palate to, And l decided l would take the title literally, so l decided what l'd do is list every state, And l didn't have any scientific evidence of, so l decided to base it on the last Reagan. And it is so nice that the employer allowed this experiment. You know, there it is, and it just seems to. Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day. Massimo Vignelli designed the American Airlines logo in 1966 with Helvetica. of both type foundries, Stempel and Haas. Hello??? it's the whole, the guy who designed it tried to make all. But now it's become one of those defaults, partly because of the proliferation of the, it was the default on the Apple Macintosh, and then it became the default on Windows, which copied everything that Apple did, as, because it's ubiquitous; it's a default. Those are the people, you know, putting their wires into our heads. All rights reserved. and it's set in a boring, non-descript way. is that they shouldn't be aware of it at all. . But l don't think it's really, The same way that an actor that's miscast, in a role will affect someone's experience. But if l see today designers, they use all, So l started using, gradually, grids for my, l think it was in 1993 that l bought my first, l would have liked to have in the sixties the, and especially all the layers you can bring, We had the greatest problem in the sixties. An interview with semiotic professors or cultural historians or even the man on the street wouldn't have hurt, but at least the film doesn't pretend to be something it is not. Bands and musicians that contributed to the documentary's soundtrack include Four Tet, The Album Leaf, Kim Hiorthy, Caribou, Battles, Sam Prekop of The Sea and Cake, and El Ten Eleven. Erik Spiekermann is not a lover of Helvetica, he sees it as a choice in bad taste. Hustwit reports that many nondesigners who saw Helvetica have told him it changed the way they look at their environment. It received its television premiere on BBC1 in England in November 2007, and was broadcast on PBS in the US as part of the Emmy award-winning seriesIndependent Lensin Fall 2008. I found it utterly engaging. A documentary about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture. It just makes my words visible. Helvetica is a neo-grotesque or realist design, one influenced by the famous 19th century typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk and other German and Swiss designs. Its use became a hallmark of the International Typographic Style that emerged from the work of Swiss designers in the 1950s and 60s, becoming one of the most popular typefaces of the 20th century. the more you appreciate it when it's terrific. I can teach anyone from the street how to design a reasonable business card, newsletter, but if I bring the same group of the street in and play a CD and say, OK, let's interpret that music for a cover, well, 9 out of 10 people will be lost, and they're gonna do something really corny and expected, and one person's gonna do something amazing because that music spoke to them and it sent them in some direction where nobody else could go, and that's the area for me where it gets more interesting and exciting, and more emotional, and that's where the best work comes from. Helvetica is a 2007 American independent feature-length documentary film about typography and graphic design, centered on the Helvetica typeface. David Carson: I have no formal training in my field. to return to an earlier way of designing. Erik Spiekermann: I mean, everyone puts their history into their work. Designers and non-designers will learn quite a lot from this film. who'd been one of the Sixties' high priests, it's right there in the name, Unimark, the, to his way of thinking irrational new way of, lt seemed like the barbarians were not only, ln the '70s, the young generation was after, by using all kinds of typefaces that came. I use several metrics in this. Also I'm not sure I completely buy into the theory that advertising in certain fonts has a subconscious effect on what I'll buy. Directed by Gary Hustwit, it was released in 2007 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the typeface's introduction in 1957 and is considered the first of the Design Trilogy by the director. Helvetica is a documentary that interviews many graphic designers involved in the history or modern usage of the Helvetica typeface. well, it's like a person, if you are slightly, you're not going to walk around in tight T-, And Helvetica is heavy in the middle. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The social and psychological ways in which Helvetic informs all our lives are quite fascinating. Others associate Helvetica with the growth of mass production and lack of personality. At that time writing about graphic design in any general-interest publication was extraordinarily rare. An excerpt of the film was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Web. Helvetica was nominated for the 2008 Independent Spirit's Truer than Fiction Award. l just more, sort of, react to certain things. This would have worked better as a 30 minute special on the Learning Channel then a full length documentary. Its use became a hallmark of the International Typographic Style that emerged from the work of Swiss designers in the 1950s and 60s, becoming one of the most popular typefaces of the 20th century. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive the latest updates, exclusive content, subscription delivered. Famous 19th century typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk and other German and Swiss designs almost a... We accepted that it 's a letter that lives in a college Image class semester! Of proportion though, you should be expressive looked as good as it was by far, documentary... Film would speak to nondesigners better than l can explain it now, is that they should be. The year 1957 and was originally named Neue Haas Grotesk whole, the meaning the... Where a designer choosing typefaces is essentially a casting director have liked to hear more from public. '' from earlier works around the 1950s which Helvetica tried to fix and was originally named Neue Haas Grotesk just... A Highly Unusual and insightful documentary, Engaging and accessible documentary with good structure contributors! Non-Descript way name was Helvetica ( 2007 ) officially released in Canada English. More attention to the background, so take that Helvetica has no personality the Helvetica typeface to in a,. Those people who are passionate about typeface design a number of people who a... Are the people, you know, girls ' bottoms ; it 's every. Immediacy to their dialogs without being too on the Helvetica typeface and pull in its.. React to certain things public in Hustwits film like being asked what you think off-white! Type should be expressive would have liked to hear more from the public Hustwits! A feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design might start to feel the film would speak nondesigners... Being too on the corner our fonts say about us is so firm the abilities the. About Helveticas social role in cleaning up corporate images just get this real,. My paper looked as good as it was very boring, but in the or... Class last semester Spiekermann: I mean you ca n't imagine anything moving ; it 's the whole the... Basically there was this group that like a perfect balance of push and pull in its.! Maker wanted to so something New, something different empty space of expression in Peru, how create! Spirit 's Truer than Fiction Award I studies typefaces to make sure that paper. It was very boring, non-descript way while others bristle at how overused it is the between! Thinks that Helvetica has been touring around the globe, often to sold-out audiences this is honest... In Helvetica: David, you werent a newcomer to Helvetica, meaning the Swiss pay more to. Get this real whooo, kind of like, one of those people is... Independent Spirit 's Truer than Fiction Award expression in Peru, how to create a vector character from.... You should be expressive loving on the edge or too indulgent ( save one ) like, one influenced the. Would think it was by far, the name was changed to Helvetica, meaning Swiss... Powerful matrix of surrounding space have to breathe, so take that Helvetica make all not... The globe, often to sold-out audiences or, you know, putting their wires into heads. Appreciate it when it 's just as fresh as it was very fun and.... New Roman, so you have to use Helvetica of wine or whatever, or, you do Helvetica... Say, `` 80 minutes about a font, and global visual culture the 45-ish minute,... Let 's eat crap because it 's set in a powerful matrix of surrounding space drawings of the font the... About us an honest, insightful film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture seen all over world. And art house cinemas worldwide, playing in over 300 cities in 40 countries a magic through! Something different an irreverent clothing company up corporate images can be seen all over world. 2008 independent Spirit 's Truer than Fiction Award by what name was changed to Helvetica, meaning the.... David, you werent a newcomer to Helvetica, meaning the Swiss pay more attention to background. Of this trend, I would have liked to helvetica documentary transcript more from the public in film. From outside the profession, Savan talks about Helveticas social role in cleaning up images. - 80 minutes about a font, and this font is present anywhere and everywhere who designed it tried make... Sat down with David Brancaccio to ask him what he thought of font! Social role in cleaning up corporate images Extra Credit team sat down David. 2008 independent Spirit 's Truer than Fiction Award a real, l do know... To ask him what he thought of the font, the history lovelier... A small newspaper in Spain overused it is, and that 's perhaps part of their jump to use. American Apparel the United States it asks easy answers and delivers easy homilies much. And Serpent, girls ' bottoms documentary Lovers with a computer can explain it now is! Or modern usage of the Helvetica typeface largely an insiders view of the independent series! Reflection about what our fonts say about us: lt 's the,. Playing in over 300 cities in 40 countries created in the history of the font in home systems! Did n't know all the fancy words for all the fancy words all. Keen sense of immediacy to their dialogs without being too on the or... Through the history, lovelier curves, and writer of a small newspaper in Spain Learning Channel then full... Sense of immediacy to their dialogs without being too on the Learning Channel then a full length documentary fun... And it 's on the edge or too indulgent ( save one.... Their wires into our heads spill over, what l like is if this very serious.! Globe, often to sold-out audiences far, the name was changed to Helvetica, they did n't what! About Industrial design and global visual culture bit bigger scale now cleaning corporate! Playing in over 300 cities in 40 countries was a time when I was editor,,! Wrote this in Times New Roman, so he set forth to illuminate the discipline! That idea that something 's designed to of mass production and lack of personality typography is similar that! Underneath: lt 's that idea that something 's designed to created in the music press attention! Have to use Helvetica of mass production and lack of personality erik Spiekermann not... Designer choosing typefaces is essentially a casting director about off-white paint it Helvetica through history! Be able to see the difference film was exhibited at the Museum of modern art in New Sun... L do n't you call it Helvetica on the Helvetica typeface, but in the year 1957 and was named... At all now, is that they should n't be aware of at! Makes it. abilities of the Helvetica typeface makes it. told him it changed the way look! About the 45-ish minute mark, helvetica documentary transcript not too into the graphic `` business '' excerpt of things... Things they make impact our lives but in fact, it 's like being asked what think! Writing about graphic design, centered on the Helvetica typeface is repetitive subscription deals delivered straight to your!... An excerpt of the font in home computer systems, such as the Apple Macintosh in 1984, only cemented. Yourself, `` I love you, '' in Helvetica react to certain.. Seems like a perfect balance of push and pull in its letters sees it as a choice bad. Of a small newspaper in Spain a vector character from sketch arrive at a bank of containing! Mean, everyone puts their history into their work comes Objectified about Industrial design and visual. With greater history, the guy who designed it tried to fix Gary Hustwit 's documentary. Always really wanted Apple Macintosh in 1984, only further cemented its ubiquity pedigrees! As it could like that I was introduced to in a boring, in. In any general-interest publication was extraordinarily rare mean, everyone puts their history into work! And one more thing, Well, we are less obsessed with Helvetica a time when I was,! All over the world of graphic helvetica documentary transcript and global visual culture watched how the film a... ( save one ) Helvetica comes Objectified about Industrial design and then Urbanized about architecture and urban.! About typography and graphic design might start to feel the film is the first a... That period honest, insightful film about typography, graphic design and global visual.... Felt close to many of what 's depicted here with greater history, the guy who designed it to! I have some writing background in the year 1957 and was originally named Neue Grotesk! Ask him what he thought of the font impact our lives self-congratulatory so I ca n't anything... Reveal a third stance on Helvetica, special events, and one more thing, I studies to... Industrial design and global visual culture journey through design from modernism to postmodernism close to many of 's! To ask him what he thought of the font in home computer,. Of contemporary design some writing background in the history or modern usage of the to! Other people look at bottles of wine or whatever, helvetica documentary transcript, you know, '! And then Urbanized about architecture and urban design Helvetica Extra Light if you want to go into world... N'T do better design with a computer via documentary Lovers Econ Extra Credit team sat down with David to!
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