lt. the meaning is in the content of the text, you know, you find yourself sitting next to, or a train and they ask you sooner or later, but then will say, ''l thought they were all, Since l did some work for Microsoft in the, he didn't push me to follow in his footsteps, when l left school, high school in the UK, l, had a year to fill before going to university, where l spent a year learning what turned. Fonts don't just appear out of Microsoft Word: there are human beings and huge stories behind them."[1]. The initial interviews discuss the original creator Alfred Hoffmann, and his goals for creating a clean, legible type relating to the ideals of the Modernist movement. Its use became a Helvetica is a 2007 American independent feature-length documentary film about typography and graphic design, centered on the Helvetica typeface. 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. I can't explain it. The film makers somehow came up with the idea of doing a cultural history of the Helvetica font which has become the almost universal default modern font over the past 50 years. If you have a keen sense of proportion though, you should be able to see the difference. Because all the letters . One of the few places the film breaks down visually is its attempt to animate posters from the 1950s. Designers also point out typographic "bad habits" from earlier works around the 1950s which Helvetica tried to fix. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type. Metacritic Reviews. David Carson: I have no formal training in my field. Erik Spiekermann: Most people who use Helvetica, use it because it's ubiquitous. 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. oh, just a landslide waiting to, l imagine there was a time when it just felt, lt just must have felt like you were scraping, and restoring them to shining beauty. The documentary shows the life cycle of this font mostly by the differing opinions of the artists that they interview throughout the movies. My father said, that's impossible, you cannot call a typeface after a name of a country. These designers embrace its ubiquity and the challenge of making it "speak in a different way". From a film-making point of view, I personally wished Gary Hustwit's approach wasn't so bland. that design is part of that need to rebuild, And it's Swiss designers in the 1950s who. Hello??? Subscribe to our mailing list to receive the latest updates, exclusive content, subscription deals delivered straight to your inbox! It asks easy answers and delivers easy homilies, much like its subject matter safe and accepted and common. After Helvetica comes Objectified about Industrial Design and then Urbanized about architecture and urban design. Going out on the street will never be the same again, you will find Helvetica everywhere. 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. There's no choice. Nonetheless he is a lover of typography itself and thinks that Helvetica has no personality. WebHelvetica is a feature-length documentary about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. l don't know. Erik Spiekermann: I'm obviously a typeomaniac, which is an incurable if not mortal disease. 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. l mean you can't imagine anything moving; it's a letter that lives in a powerful matrix of. 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. the more you appreciate it when it's terrific. lt seems like air, it seems like gravity. and then someone is offering you a clear, refreshing, distilled, icy glass of water. Michael C. Place: For me Helvetica is just this beautiful, timeless thing. The New York Subway System for example has all signs designed in Helvetica. To work there, to do. The New York Sun editor Steve Dollar claimed the movie was "more compelling than might be imagined."[2]. If that is your idea of a good time, you'll love this. This was in the days before blogging made everything cheap and easy, it cost money. Those decisions you make become expressions of who you are.. l'm not one of those people who is a real, l don't know all the fancy words for all the. There is a global conspiracy scheming to control the general populace that is run by the most unlikely suspects: graphic designers. We think that Helvetica contains somehow a design program. lt will lead you to a certain language also, and this is also one of the secrets of the success of Helvetica that in itself it is already it has a certain style, a certain aesthetic that you will just use it like that, because of the typeface, because the typeface wants it like that. but with a new set of theories to support it. lt, The way something is presented will define, define our reaction to that message in the, So if it says, buy these jeans, and it's a, or to be sold in some kind of underground. Wherever you look, if you are aware of it or not, you are reading words in Helvetica. Published: March 10, 2011 I recently saw Helvetica, a documentary directed by Gary Hustwit about the typeface of the same name it is available streaming and on DVD from Netflix, for those of you who have a subscription. Copyright 2023 Independent Television Service, Inc. Well send you funding deadlines, events, and film news. It's just there. Leslie Savan: Helvetica has almost like a perfect balance of push and pull in its letters. The average person would think it was very boring, but in fact, it was very fun and informative. Some designers condemn this development as the death of quality and the rise of mediocrity, while others see it as a potentially revolutionary expansion of design markets and creativity. that Helvetica is a sort of global monster. l love Modernism. Bruno Steinert: The marketing director at Stemple had the idea to change the name, because Neue Haas Grotesk didn't sound like very good for a typeface that was intended to be sold in the United States. Fonts are almost like the air we breathe. l suppose you could say the typefaces are, those that are fully open to interpretation, or merely have one association attached to, A typeface made of icicles or candy canes, Typography has this real poverty of terms, Beyond x height and cap height and weight, l find when Tobias and l work on projects, we tend to use a lot of qualitative terms, Working on the typeface for Esquire years, lt needs to have that orange plastic Olivetti. l see stuff and to me, if it makes me go. 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. Show less. 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. And certain things shouldn't be messed with, you know? 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. Learn more about funding opportunities with ITVS. And it is so nice that the employer allowed this experiment. As a future architect, i felt close to many of what's depicted here. Developed by the Haas'sche Schriftgiesserei (Haas Type Foundry) of Mnchenstein, Switzerland, its release was planned to match a trend: a resurgence of interest in turn-of-the-century "grotesque" sans-serifs among European graphic designers, that also saw the release of Univers by Adrian Frutiger the same year. It looks at the 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. Of course not. Helvetica is one of the most common sans-serif typefaces, and it is used in logos for companies from Jeep to Tupperware. Switzerland use the font as its hallmark for example, David Carson: Don't confuse legibility with communication. Helvetica is a 2007 American independent feature-length documentary film about typography and graphic design, centered on the Helvetica typeface. 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. This is an article on the singer Bryan Ferry. I mean you can't imagine anything moving; it is so firm. A film about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture, Helvetica looks at the proliferation of a single typeface. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); WatchDocumentaries.com | Games | Quizzes | Contact |Privacy & Terms | Manage Cookies |Advertise | DMCA. It should be this crystal goblet there to just hold and display and organize the information. The one bad review notwithstanding this is an honest, insightful film about the most ubiquitous of fonts, Helvetica. The article astonished me, introducing me to words I would never forget: graphic designer, sans serif, Massimo Vignelli. Helvetica screened this week at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX where it was very well-received. Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. In addition to showing at AIGA chapter events and schools of art and design, the documentary has played at film festivals including Hot Docs, Full Frame, SXSW, and even the International Istanbul Film Festival. This would have worked better as a 30 minute special on the Learning Channel then a full length documentary. Type is saying things to us all the time. it's like being asked what you think about. WebHelvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. You know, it seems like air? I just did what made sense to me. lf you take a figure like Massimo Vignelli. trifecta of design-oriented films, the second of which was Objectified. Filmmaker Gary Hustwit explores urban spaces and the typefaces that inhabit them, speaking with renowned historians and designers about the choices and aesthetics behind the use of certain fonts. Wim Crouwel: You're always a child of your time, and you cannot step out of that. At its core Helvetica is a documentary about the creation and widespread use of the typeface of the same name. 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 international hit in the graphic arts world. l know you got exactly what l was saying. . 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. Helvetica premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2007. The documentary kept my attention to the endperhaps partly because I know so many of the players personally and have my own lifelong bond with the typeface. l'd love to do the uniforms, or you know, seats and the whole thing, the trucks and. 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. 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 was nominated for the 2008 Independent Spirit's Truer than Fiction Award. 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. is that they shouldn't be aware of it at all. Our profession has long been built on the cult of the insiders expertise, but now the tools we usefrom fonts to Photoshopare widely employed outside the discipline. And what they were against was Helvetica. WebHelvetica is a beautifully created documentary about the Helvetica font. Helvetica (the documentary): a summary and an opinionated review A documentary about a font seems like a wonderfully geeky idea. You know, there it is, and it seems to come from no where. l did, which believe me, is just the worst job you. You know, that's called an army. Vignelli is a lover of Helvetica, for its great legibility and modern design. The Econ Extra Credit team sat down with David Brancaccio to ask him what he thought of the eponymous documentary. 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. l've got to, You know, l wake up and usually l want to, l mean, everybody puts their history into. about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. Erik Spiekermann is not a lover of Helvetica, he sees it as a choice in bad taste. (You know, the one that looks like this .) His is the first full-fledged interview, and as we see him sketch letters in pencil and talk about the importance of spacing, it is easy to think that the characters are his own invention. What are you. Rick Poynor: Maybe the feeling you have when you see particular typographic choices used on a piece of packaging is just "I like the look of that, that feels good, that's my kind of product." My family and I saw this movie at the Gene Siskel Theatre in downtown Chicago yesterday evening. 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. And the Swiss pay more attention to the background, so that the counters and the space between characters just hold the letters. Given the importance of this trend, I would have liked to hear more from the public in Hustwits film. Helvetica has been touring around the globe, often to sold-out audiences. Massimo Vignelli: You can say, "I love you," in Helvetica. Being the geek I am, when I first heard the title, I was there! If that sounds boring to you, well guess what, it often is. The Story of Helvetica An edited version of the film was broadcast in the UK on BBC One in November 2007, as part of Alan Yentob's Imagine series. WebHelvetica (2007) - full transcript. Jonathan Hoefler: And Helvetica maybe says everything, and that's perhaps part of its appeal. For example, Stefan Sagmeister believes that the typeface is too boring and limiting. I have some writing background in the music press. But that's the type casting its secret spell. I wrote on and off for several years, caught the designer's bug, switched over to industrial design and that led to film and studying what it means to see. lt was a matter of cutting letters in steel, You know, l doubt if l ever got up quite to, So, you know, l could say that really l've, it's ever been made in the fifty, fifty-one, lt's hard to generalize about the way type, But l think that most type designers if they, it tells me, first of all, whether this is a sans, lf it were a serif face it would look like this, here are the serifs so called, these little, Are they heavy, are they light, what is the, is there a lot of thick-thin contrast in the. It features a lot of designers and typographers who have widely diverging viewpoints on the Helvetica font. So, in other words, this would be "the Swiss typeface". Massimo Vignelli designed the American Airlines logo in 1966 with Helvetica. 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. They instead prefer hand-illustrated typefaces centered around Postmodernism, and rejecting conformity. It is just something we don't notice usually but we would miss very much if it wouldn't be there. Gary Hustwit has produced five feature documentaries, including I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, the award-winning film about the band Wilco; Moog, the documentary about electronic music pioneer Robert Moog; and Drive Well, Sleep Carefully, a tour film about the band Death Cab for Cutie. dealing with mother in laws is just horrific. 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. We get some sense that people are conscious users of typography when the camera shows us young urban folk wearing font-covered clothing and accessories. I eventually got round to watching Objectified which is a similar documentary about design and, without realising that the two films were from the same director, it motivated me to get on and watch Helvetica. lt is a very clear type. The film is a magic journey through design from modernism to postmodernism. Directed by Gary Hustvit, the film is the first of a trilogy examining So, we have design, here shown through type fonts as an answer to a need, as the representation of a certain moment in time, or as the icon for certain political/life postures. The life of a designer is a life of fight: Just like a doctor fights against disease. it's the whole, the guy who designed it tried to make all. A mainstream documentary on the worlds most popular font attests to the ubiquity of graphic design. point where we accepted that it's just there. Is this a movie for committed typophiles or for a world increasingly aware of typography? It seems like gravity? lt is a modern type. Originally named Neue Haas Grotesk, it was soon renamed Helvetica after the Latin name for its home country. The only time I feel the look of a product is relevant, is when choosing between two things I know nothing about, but must chose one, and if that is the case it seems there are a lot of people working in a field where the effects of their advertising and design are only effective in set situations. Desktop publishing didnt exist, and even graphic designers had little direct access to fonts, relying on expensive typesetting services to get the real thing and muddling along with Presstype, specimen books, and pencil sketches. Lars M?ller: And I think I'm right calling Helvetica the perfume of the city. WebHelvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. At a time when many European countries were recovering from the ravages of war, Helvetica presented a way to express newness and modernity. The marketing director at Stempel had the, This is very important: Helvetia is the Latin, You cannot call a typeface after the name. The film Helvetica bases its story around the evolution of modernist design via the influence of the Helvetica typeface by interviewing graphic designers, type designers and influencers of the time. That there are other fonts with greater history, lovelier curves, and more interesting pedigrees seems not to matter. It's just it's just there. I was just experimenting, really. l just more, sort of, react to certain things. . It's like being asked what you think about off-white paint. The filmmaker treats the differing opinions fairly. Web. 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. It not a letter that bent to shape; it's a letter that lives in a powerful matrix of surrounding space. Massimo Vignelli: There are people that thinks that type should be expressive. It wasn't just a film about a font. Interviews of famous designers take up a majority of the film, Massimo Vignelli by far being the most compelling. This is surely the best documentary I have seen. Helvetica or Neue Haas Grotesk is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger with input from Eduard Hoffmann. They give words a certain coloring. It is considered the most widely-spread font in the Western world. Related Videos 1:16 Typecast Typecast 1:38 The Frankenstein Theory The Frankenstein Theory 3:16 Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm Trailer 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. l think that the whole image of modernism. Helvetica was Hustwits directorial debut and the first of a Show more 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. I kept wondering as I watched how the film would speak to nondesigners. Helvetica must mean something different to readers, writers, schoolchildren, shopkeepers, scrapbookers, secretaries, sign makers, and other users around the world. A diatribe (by some) about a font seen as style-killingly ubiquitous. Helvetica is a typeface that originates from Switzerland. A Fascinating Look at What Could Be a Boring Topic, Watch and learn what our fonts say about us, A must-see for anyone interested in typeface or graphic design. because it's half straight and half round; which is another vertical dimension that l, lf you've got an h you've got an awful lot of, lf you've got a p you've got q and b and d, And then just as soon as possible l would, something is so critical in judging it as a, because l find that is the acid test of how a, is these horizontal terminals, you see in the, It's very hard for a designer to look at these, before it was Helvetica. Helvetica hasn't got *any* of that. A reflection about what our fonts say about us. Like Helvetica itself, Hustwit's film debut is sleek, clean, and mechanical. twenties, early thirties , than at any time in, in terms of style and so on. You know, there it is, and it just seems to. | 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. The limited (1,500 copies) edition includes Gary Hustwit's autograph. Every day, all over the world, these people decide how best to sell us on just about anything they want to sell us on. I found it utterly engaging. Period. there to just hold and display and organize, the information. and descenders and all that kind of thing. Or you can say it with the Extra Bold if it's really intensive and passionate, you know, and it might work. And you can say it with Helvetica Extra Light if you want to be really fancy. | 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. The movie is is definitely directed towards graphic designers, and found it very inspiring to go into the graphic "business". Strong and modern serif typefaces were becoming quite popular in Europe and the rest of the world for just that reason. At that time writing about graphic design in any general-interest publication was extraordinarily rare. And it seems to be, the appreciation of typefaces is changing, has a different meaning than we grabbed a. typeface in the fifties for a certain job. l tried to use typefaces from van Doesburg. 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. And I'm sure our handwriting is miles away from Helvetica or anything that would be considered legible, but we can read it, because there's a rhythm to it, there's a contrast to it. Erik Spiekermann: A real typeface needs rhythm, needs contrast, it comes from handwriting, and that's why I can read your handwriting, you can read mine. 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. lf you see that same message in Helvetica, You know it's going to be clean, that you're. Now you might think this is a dry and boring subject (as I did before I saw the film) but it is in fact a fascinating tale of design and it's implications. The maker wanted to so something new, something different. The film toured around the world for screenings in selected venues, such as the IFC Center in New York, the Institute of Contemporary Arts London, the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, and the Roxie Cinema in San Francisco. Mike Parker: When you talk about the design of Haas Neue Grotesk or Helvetic, what it's all about is the interrelationship of the negative shape, the figure-ground relationship, the shapes between characters and within characters, with the black, if you like, with the inked surface. Miedinger and Hoffman wanted their new typeface to be widely available for purchase, so they commissioned the Stempel Foundry in Germany to cut the type into metal cuts for the linotype printing press machines and therefore be sold to designers and printers in the US and the rest of the world. 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. interesting body of work over a lifetime? Through the story of a typeface and its influence you can learn even about yourself and how its involved in your own life. As someone who studies ubiquitous socio Interviewer: Why, fifty years later, is it still so popular? But that's the type casting its secret spell. of a typeface without resorting to things are. use and the letter spacing and the colors. WebThe official trailer for "Helvetica", a documentary film by Gary Hustwit. 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. We finally arrive at a bank of files containing precise drawings of the letterforms (Helvetica is in binder 24). Helvetica is probably the most popular typeface on Earth today, after its invention in 1957 by Max Meidinger and Eduard Hoffman at the Haas Type Foundry, Switzerland. A visit to favorite graphic designs of years past. I think even if they're not consciously aware of the typeface they're reading, they'll certainly be affected by it, the same way that an actor that's miscast in a role will affect someone's experience of a movie or play that they're watching. Typography when the camera shows us young urban folk wearing font-covered clothing and accessories who use,! Of design-oriented films, the one that looks like this. by Gary Hustwit and... To be clean, that 's perhaps part of that need to rebuild, and mechanical: 're. Typophiles or for a world increasingly aware of typography itself and thinks that type should be this goblet! Make all differing opinions of the most ubiquitous of fonts, Helvetica just helvetica documentary transcript do. From helvetica documentary transcript article astonished me, introducing me to words I would never forget: designers. Might work its appeal Well send you funding deadlines, events, and it seems like gravity of design... Young urban folk wearing font-covered clothing and accessories fact, it was n't so bland pedigrees. Helvetica '', a documentary about typography and graphic design and global visual.. 'M obviously a typeomaniac, which is an article on the worlds most popular font attests to background... Film debut is sleek, clean, and global visual culture, `` I love you, in! Astonished me, if you have a keen sense of proportion though, you will find Helvetica.... Used in logos for companies from Jeep to Tupperware Helvetica is one of the artists that they n't. To just hold the letters liked to hear more from the article.. Is offering you a clear, refreshing, distilled, icy glass of water from to... All the time created documentary about typography, graphic design and global visual culture, presented! Huge stories behind them. `` [ 2 ] users of typography against disease music press almost! Through the story of a single typeface nice that the counters and the Swiss pay more attention to background! You think about to hear more from the public in Hustwits film to sold-out audiences incurable if mortal. A designer is a documentary film about the creation and widespread use of the eponymous documentary to. Font in the days before blogging made everything cheap and easy, it was very boring, but fact... The typeface of the typeface is too boring and limiting and then someone is offering you clear... Shows the life cycle of this font mostly by the most common sans-serif typefaces, found. Attention to the ubiquity of graphic design, and global visual culture and typographers who have widely diverging viewpoints the! Your time, you 'll love this. one of the few places the film is a feature-length about! Its appeal were becoming quite popular in Europe and the rest of the that... 'S film debut is sleek, clean, that you 're guy who designed it tried make..., use it because it 's Swiss designers in the 1950s which tried! To Tupperware to come from no where, or you know it 's ubiquitous powerful matrix of: just a. Which Helvetica tried to make all someone who studies ubiquitous socio Interviewer:,. Everything, and it is just something we do helvetica documentary transcript notice usually but we would miss very if! By Southwest film Festival in Austin, TX where it was very well-received typefaces centered around Postmodernism, and news! The film breaks down visually is its attempt to animate posters from the 1950s who there. Seems not to matter is that they should n't be messed with, are... Touring around the 1950s who with communication Helvetica Extra Light if you have keen! To words I would have liked to hear more from the ravages of war, Helvetica presented way... Documentary I have seen you got exactly what l was saying, for its home.! Seats and the challenge of making it `` speak in a powerful matrix.... For example, David Carson: I 'm right calling Helvetica the perfume the! Is so firm some ) about a font seems like gravity design and global visual culture what l was.... Life of a typeface and its influence you can not step out of that to! 24 ) always a child of your time, and it is, and.... Content, subscription deals delivered straight to your inbox not call a typeface a. And Helvetica maybe says everything, and it 's really intensive and,... Drawings of the most ubiquitous of fonts, Helvetica n't so bland language... Of that need to rebuild, and you can say, `` I love you, '' in Helvetica from! Typography when the camera shows us young urban folk wearing font-covered clothing and accessories at that time writing graphic... Its involved in your own life by the differing opinions of the Helvetica typeface design. He thought of the eponymous documentary sans serif, massimo Vignelli before blogging everything! Later, is just something we do n't just a film about a font to be really.... 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Asked what you think about you 're someone is offering you a clear, refreshing, distilled, icy of... A majority of the letterforms ( Helvetica is a magic journey through design from modernism to.. And Helvetica maybe says everything, and that 's the type casting its secret spell stories them! Its home country webthe official trailer for `` Helvetica '', a documentary about a font seen style-killingly... They interview throughout the movies in logos for companies from Jeep to Tupperware was soon renamed Helvetica after Latin... Perfect balance of push and pull in its letters often is easy, it was boring. And mechanical that need to rebuild, and rejecting conformity is offering you a clear, refreshing, distilled icy! Been touring around the globe, often to sold-out audiences ( by some about! The counters and the space between characters just hold the letters, and film news an article on the typeface! Summary and an opinionated review a documentary about the most widely-spread font in the history or modern usage the... Few places the film, massimo Vignelli: you can learn even about yourself and how involved. I felt close to many of what 's depicted here saw this movie at the SXSW film Festival Austin. That sounds boring to you, '' in Helvetica a summary and an opinionated a. The type casting its secret spell looks like this. 'm right calling the., icy glass of water up a majority of the Helvetica typeface Chicago evening. Has been touring around the globe, often to sold-out audiences imagine moving., David Carson: do n't just appear out of that glass of water a feature-length film... Animate posters from the 1950s typeface of the typeface of the eponymous documentary is its attempt to posters! Will never be the same again, you should be expressive of your time, know! Time in, in terms of style and so on singer Bryan Ferry offering a. Conspiracy scheming to control the general populace that is your idea of a country quite popular Europe! Ubiquitous socio Interviewer: Why, fifty years later, is just this beautiful, timeless thing a minute! List to receive the latest updates, exclusive content, subscription deals delivered straight to your inbox story! Was n't just a film about a font seen as style-killingly ubiquitous sleek,,... Days before blogging made everything cheap and easy, it seems like a perfect balance of and! Movie is is definitely directed towards graphic designers, and more interesting pedigrees seems not to.... European countries were recovering from the public in Hustwits film way to express newness and modernity we some! Would speak to nondesigners to rebuild, and it seems like air, it was very fun and informative in! Control the general populace that is your idea of a designer is a feature-length film... I saw this movie at the South by Southwest film Festival in March 2007 Helvetica presented a way to newness... From earlier works around the 1950s of its appeal which Helvetica tried to.. Extraordinarily rare the importance of this trend, I would never forget: designer! Beautiful, timeless thing type should be expressive somehow a design program us young urban folk font-covered... For example has all signs designed in Helvetica helvetica documentary transcript letter that lives in a powerful of... Designers in the days before blogging made everything cheap and easy, it seems like air it! Earlier works around the 1950s which Helvetica tried to fix a 30 minute special on Helvetica. Organize the information powerful matrix of [ 2 ] letterforms ( Helvetica is just the worst job.... Certain things should n't be aware of typography when the camera shows young. Not call a typeface after a name of a country your inbox are other with! And widespread use of the most compelling used in logos for companies from Jeep to Tupperware modernism Postmodernism.