In the end Helvetica is not just about Helvetica. It aired in January 2009 as part of the Independent Lens series on PBS in the United States. to clear away all this horrible, kind of like, lt must have been just fantastic. 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's a documentary about the creation of the Helvetica font, sure. Erik Spiekermann: Most people who use Helvetica, use it because it's ubiquitous. But they'll be, And to my way of thinking, that is a huge, Something about the fact that people keep, that would sort of say it's not just because, it's not just because it was associated with, the rightness of the way the c strokes are, l mean, l wouldn't have believed that those, Yet we sort of have nearly fifty years of, daring people to fix it. Just because something is legible doesn't mean it communicates and, more importantly, doesn't mean it communicates the right thing. In contrast, shooting printed matter directly from books or magazines works surprisingly well throughout the documentary, especially in a scene where Bierut shows us quirky typefaces from a magazine in the 1950s, followed by a Coke ad from the 60s set in Helvetica. Originally named Neue Haas Grotesk, it was soon renamed Helvetica after the Latin name for its home country. You know, that's called an army. 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. 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. That there are other fonts with greater history, lovelier curves, and more interesting pedigrees seems not to matter. The film was released on Blu-ray Disc in May 2008, produced by Matt Grady of Plexifilm. Interviewees in Helvetica include 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, Lars Muller, and many more. Some of his subjects praise the clarity and versatility of Helvetica, while others bristle at how overused it is. use Helvetica is typically Dutch, l think, and that's why l'm never really impressed. lt's that idea that something's designed to. Michael Bierut: It's The Real Thing. Helvetica is a 2007 documentary about the font directed by Gary Hustwitt; that goes through the history of the font. Alfred Hoffmann: [showing book of type samples] Here are the first trials of Neue Haas Grotesk, which was the first name of Helvetica. Undoubtedly. Helvetica hasn't got *any* of that. I first became aware of typographythe very idea of itwhen I was in the eighth grade. The type in an instant, in a single image, tells the story of its making, tells you about. Helvetica is considered to be one of the most popular and widely used typefaces in the world. Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. So, in other words, this would be "the Swiss typeface". Throughout the film, various montages of Helvetica appearing in urban scenes and pop culture intersperse the interviews. It was very unusual in how the entire movie was based on the typeface/font. Helvetica was created in the year 1957 and was originally named Neue Haas Grotesk. It's like going to McDonald's instead of thinking about food. In this interesting little documentary we meet a number of people who are passionate about typeface design. I just get a total kick out of it: they are my friends. 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. 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. l lived in that period. Helveticawas nominated for a 2008 Independent Spirit Award, and was shortlisted for the Design Museum Londons Designs of the Year Award. interesting body of work over a lifetime? 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 was everywhere in the Fifties, this is, You cut to - this is after Helvetica was in. 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. The creative processes of some of the worlds most influential product designers shows how the things they make impact our lives. Helvetica isnt originalits based on an there to just hold and display and organize, the information. The life of a designer is a life of fight: Just like a doctor fights against disease. "fonts." Period. They wanted to get away from the orderly, the horrible slickness of it all, as they saw it, lf l see a brochure now, with lots of white, that has like six lines of Helvetica up on the, the overall communication that says to me, l probably was the last generation who got, ln general, l was always fairly bored, you, lt just didn't seem a very interesting task to. And it is so nice that the employer allowed this experiment. It was by far, the most NOT-boring documentary i've ever seen. Elegantly shot by Luke Geissbuhler, the film presents interviews with prominent designers spanning three generations, from old-guard heroes Vignelli, Matthew Carter, and Wim Crouwel, to mid-career pros Michael Bierut and David Carson, and young hipsters Danny van den Dungen (from Experimental Jetset) and Michael C. Place (formerly with the Designers Republic). I love the subject matter! On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. You know, there it is, and it just seems to. Any questions? Because it's there, it's on every street corner, so let's eat crap because it's on the corner. and it's set in a boring, non-descript way. from books and then copy it or something, l would really say that it's almost in our. WebHelvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. l think that the whole image of modernism. But it almost seems strongerthe other way. - this movie may not be for you. 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. than any other one, and that's Helvetica. All that hunting to the next typeface every, and l can still remember as students that, l think all three of us grew up in the '70s, So for us it is almost like a natural mother, lt's not that we l mean, a lot of people. They'll still follow the plot, but, you know, be convinced or affected. 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. Erik Spiekermann is not a lover of Helvetica, he sees it as a choice in bad taste. They play a very subtle and almost unnoticed and usually uncommented upon role in our daily lives. For those of us who take interest in such things, of course! 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. Palinopsia (Whats Up with Eagle and Serpent? 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. 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. We thus move rhythmically between the designers voice from inside the studio to the public life of the typeface on caf signs, billboards, subway graphics, and so on. From a film-making point of view, I personally wished Gary Hustwit's approach wasn't so bland. Helvetica is a documentary that interviews many graphic designers involved in the history or modern usage of the Helvetica typeface. Those decisions you make become expressions of who you are.. And the aim with type design always is to, alphabet has to look like the other alphabet. Hello??? The Econ Extra Credit team sat down with David Brancaccio to ask him what he thought of the eponymous documentary. 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. the more you appreciate it when it's terrific. and it's just as fresh as it was . 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. 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. It is just something we don't notice usually but we would miss very much if it wouldn't be there. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Wim Crouwel: The meaning is in the content of the text and not in the typeface, and that is why we loved Helvetica very much. Those are the people, you know, putting their wires into our heads. Helvetica emerges in that period, in 1 957, where there's felt to be a need for rational. 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