Helvetica
Yes, I know. We did just watch the film.
But I am curious to know what other people think of it. There are many reviews such as the one attached from the New York Times.
What do you think about Helvetica? Is it a "conceptual breakthrough?" Or would you say that it is a "lowest-common denominator typeface whose use both reflects and perpetuates conformity?"
I for one have been noticing Helvetica everywhere. I think that without Helvetica our world would look different, but I'm sure that someone else out there would have designed a typeface that would still tell us to "do not enter" or to buy Jeep, Target, or Microsoft products.
From the film: Helvetica is like air.
Would we be able to live without it?
posted by k.deyoung @ 12:42 PM
10 Comments:
I'm pretty much in love with this film. I really appreciate that both sides were discussed and explored.
watching the movie is really inspiring to me, as cheesy as that might sound.
I don't think i should say yes or no, because both seem to be acceptable. I want to learn a lot more on the concept of the letter forms that they talked about.. the "H""O""p" line combination stuff. does anyone know where i can find more info like that?
Well lets just put it this way.It is used...a lot. But it could be much much worse! It could all be set in comic sans. That would be just great wouldn't it be Jason!!
But really Helvetica is great. It has its place. I do think that it has become over used and we need to find other solutions if possible. We aren't using all of the other really great fonts out there.
I do think that we would be able to survive without helvetica, but it has made things much easier. We all like to have things come quickly to us and make relevance. Having something like helvetica that is so familiar to a vast amount of people is a good component to take into consideration when tring to establish a product into being accessible. I think that is why helvetica is so common. It isn't such a bad thing helvetica is overused if it gets messages across clearly.
I loved the film. Helvetica is such a universal type and even though it may be used....everywhere, I don't think I have ever seen it misused. I never realized how much life a type face could have, so the actual history behind it made me appreciate Helvetica that much more.
I'm not sure if whether Helvetica should be likened with air or if salt would be a more appropriate comparison. Salt is used plenty in cooking, and at varying quantities depending on the flavor desired. I mean, you're supposed to salt WATER before adding pasta. However, salt can also be an optional ingredient. That would mean that it is understood as an enhancement not a neccesity.
Jacob: Look up "typeface design." That should lead you to information on the details in that craft.
I agree with Jason, helvetica is the salt to the designer kitchen. I love helvetica when it is properly used, there is just something beautiful about the cleanliness of it. Like salt I also enjoy its versatility, it brings a lot without overpowering. However when Helvetica is overused it is a harbinger of designer heart attack.
As for the movie, I'm not sure why but I found the whole thing oddly soothing. I think I might add it to my happy place.
I really enjoy helvetica as a film and a typeface—I enjoyed seeing both sides of the argument. I want to own the film (look out Jason.) When I was younger, I knew a designer who told me that the way to make digital work look good, was to make it look like it wasn't done digitally, so I grew up doing a lot of hand-lettered projects, and helvetica seemed to be the bastion of all that was digital. So, naturally, I tried to use replacements such as avenir and trade gothic just to look different from all of the other work being produced.
there's a sense of comfort or uniformity found when we can count on things to be the same.... isn't that the way this society is??? everyone wants to be like everyone....ex: how many people do you see with northface coats...........
After seeing the film I realized how many times a day I must see this font. I never noticed it before, probably because it infests millions of signs, logos, and advertisements and as we all know when you get used to something being around so much you stop realizing that its there. Yes, its a great font that can be used in nearly every scenario but I'm sure that if Helvetica were to be taken off of streets in so many countries across the world another typeface would have been designed to fill its place. Helvetica is not a way of life in the design world. It is a huge asset to designers and has a remarkable way of making any advertisement look more professional but had Helvetica not been designed by Max Miedinger the world we live in today would be doing just fine with out it.
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