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. WebHelvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. Others associate Helvetica with the growth of mass production and lack of personality. 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. 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. Unfortunately, the documentary doesn't try to extend the abilities of the filmmakers to any degree whatsoever. 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. So l get obsessed about things, l collect, you know, l've got so many bits and scraps. Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. I say was because by the end of the film it had become as boring as it originally sounds. 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. The filmmaker treats the differing opinions fairly. Awards 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. Michael C. Place: For me Helvetica is just this beautiful, timeless thing. I just love, I just like looking at type. Interviewer: Why, fifty years later, is it still so popular? And the Swiss pay more attention to the background, so that the counters and the space between characters just hold the letters. This film is a real gift to graphic designers, and it is an eye-opener to a public that cares about fonts more than we might expect. Truth is, you will learn about so much more than just a typeface when watching Helvetica, you will learn about a design era, about how life and design intertwine on a daily basis. Helveticawas nominated for a 2008 Independent Spirit Award, and was shortlisted for the Design Museum Londons Designs of the Year Award. Jonathan Hoefler: And Helvetica maybe says everything, and that's perhaps part of its appeal. 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 feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. . twenties, early thirties , than at any time in, in terms of style and so on. Switzerland use the font as its hallmark for example, Amazingly, most of us walked out in wonder. lt's that idea that something's designed to. In my case I've never learned all the things I'm not supposed to do. . The subject is at once esoteric and universal. Hello??? They always have a, in the sense that l leave them alone when l, not because it's good for them or it fits the, l think we all do that. Throughout the film, various montages of Helvetica appearing in urban scenes and pop culture intersperse the interviews. It is wonderful also that Helvetica can also be free and fun. 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 you can say it with Helvetica Extra Light if you want to be really fancy. l think that typography is similar to that, There's very little type in my world outside, lt definitely makes the world outside the, that's just a couple blocks down from the, the place with the bad letter spacing out, l think even then people might have known, The fact that it's been so heavily licensed, has kind of furthered the mythology that it's, And even for us professionals that's hard, l kind of find myself buying into the idea, And realizing, wait a minute that's not quite. 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. probably better than l can explain it now, is that basically there was this group that. Helveticais a feature-length documentary about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. ln a way, Helvetica is a club. But my father said, lf ever l have an idea of. Every day, all over the world, these people decide how best to sell us on just about anything they want to sell us on. or aesthetically or culturally or politically. I love the subject matter! 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]. so l'm never sort of a classical type guy. 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 film is a magic journey through design from modernism to postmodernism. Designers also point out typographic "bad habits" from earlier works around the 1950s which Helvetica tried to fix. Helvetica premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2007. 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. I was simply amazed at the fact that they continued to find people to interview on the subject, with each person more excited then the next and all way more excited then anyone has a right to be about a font. And that's the, area to me where it gets more interesting. He believes that it was an OK typeface when it first came out but with the proliferation of computers and the use of Helvetica as a default it became over saturated and if a designer doesnt know how to give it the right space, then it has terrible flaws. 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. It really does justice to a topic that is so often overlooked. 2023. You need to do it by photograph, you did all, And now within half an hour you have your. 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. 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. For example, illegible hand-made lettering and cramped cursive. Helvetica is a 2007 American independent feature-length documentary film about typography and graphic design, centered on the Helvetica typeface. You've got zany hand lettering everywhere, ''Almost everyone appreciates the best. Helvetica has been touring around the globe, often to sold-out audiences. 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. from books and then copy it or something, l would really say that it's almost in our. If you have a keen sense of proportion though, you should be able to see the difference. lt will lead you to a certain language also, it has a certain style, a certain aesthetic, You will do what the typeface wants you to, lf you are not a good designer, or if you are, So it may very well be that when it comes, at least in graphic design, we've reached, completely democratic distribution of the. An excerpt of the film was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. To work there, to do. People talk about the font, the history, the meaning and the significance of helvetica. A mainstream documentary on the worlds most popular font attests to the ubiquity of graphic design. 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. The life of a designer is a life of fight: Just like a doctor fights against disease. Helveticais a cinematic 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. But it almost seems strongerthe other way. Like Helvetica itself, Hustwit's film debut is sleek, clean, and mechanical. 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. l've done other people's wedding invites. 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. - this movie may not be for you. Designers and writers explain how Helvetica was used by government entities because it gave them both an authoritative and human aspect at the same time. The two perspectives come together humorously toward the end of the film, when the Swiss publisher and graphic designer Lars Mller walks through London and points his finger, with deadpan sobriety, at various examples of Helvetica. Erik Spiekermann: I mean, everyone puts their history into their work. A documentary about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture. 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. It just makes my words visible. A documentary about typography (including but not limited to the Helvetica font), graphic design, and global visual culture. The New York Sun editor Steve Dollar claimed the movie was "more compelling than might be imagined."[2]. They have a different point of view from mine. 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. Independent Spirit's Truer than Fiction Award, Helvetica watch the design documentary here, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helvetica_(film)&oldid=1142017718, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 02:27. 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. Strong and modern serif typefaces were becoming quite popular in Europe and the rest of the world for just that reason. But in the end, it is a fun little movie that has people loving on the 50+ year old font helvetica. Some of his subjects praise the clarity and versatility of Helvetica, while others bristle at how overused it is. 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. This movie is brilliant. Michael Bierut: Everywhere you look you see typefaces. 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. 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. 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. Helvetica was nominated for the 2008 Independent Spirit's Truer than Fiction Award. 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. It aired in January 2009 as part of the Independent Lens series on PBS in the United States. Directed by Gary Hustvit, the film is the first of a trilogy examining elements of contemporary design. 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 Or you can say it in Extra Bold if it's really, l can write . So here and there l think with the records, and l think there was one instance, it was, You know, in a more funny direction and in. At about the 45-ish minute mark, those not too into the world of graphic design might start to feel the film is repetitive. Knowing how to pitch a film script means having a clear understanding of the core story. Before becomnig a filmmaker, he worked with punk label SST Records in the late 1980s, ran the independent book publishing house Incommunicado Press during the 1990s, was vice president of the media website Salon.com in 2000 and started the indie DVD label Plexifilm in 2001. you know, it's just there. You can watch it here, via Documentary Lovers. Any Questions? This typeface can be seen all over the world. 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. It is just something we don't notice usually but we would miss very much if it wouldn't be there. Helvetica examines the development and use of one of the worlds most popular typefaces. 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. Q: David, you werent a newcomer to Helvetica, Helvetica: A Documentary, A History, An Anthropology. It's just it's just there. This film is about the font that is everywhere in modern societies, the font that originated in Sweden in the early 1960's and explains how it has now become something of a default and will thus probably be around forever. WebHelvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. (Providing the films dominant voice of authority is Rick Poynor, a writer who speaks from a deep knowledge of designs evolution and internal discourse.). 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. So it's all set in Dingbats, it is the actual font, you could highlight it, but it really wouldn't be worthwhile, it's not, Just because something's legible, doesn't, and that may require a little more time or. The widespread use of the Helvetica Typoface is so noticeable that it takes an important place in design history. Offering a perspective from outside the profession, Savan talks about Helveticas social role in cleaning up corporate images. 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. l'm not one of those people who is a real, l don't know all the fancy words for all the. FAQ l've never sort of woken up with a typeface, you know, like some people . Or you just get this real whooo, kind of like, One of the things l've always really wanted. The Econ Extra Credit team sat down with David Brancaccio to ask him what he thought of the eponymous documentary. He aptly named the film HELVETICA. our archives where we can find Helvetica. Or you can say it with the Extra Bold if it's really intensive and passionate, you know, and it might work. 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. Hello??? Hustwit on his inspiration for the film: "When I started this project, I couldn't believe that a film like this didn't exist already, because these people are gods and goddesses. 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. It's just there. If that sounds boring to you, well guess what, it often is. 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. And we expected to walk out of the 2-hour class bored-stiff. And it's hard to get your head around, it's that big. Helvetica is a beautifully created documentary about the Helvetica font. l did, which believe me, is just the worst job you. And in fact, maybe they don't exist.". I like both sides of the argument. 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. 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. As someone who studies ubiquitous socio Framing the interviews are images of Helvetica from the streets of European and American cities. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. height, the ascender, so-called of the h, l can get a sense of how the weight of the, curved part of the o relates to the straight. it's like being asked what you think about. Helvetia is the Latin name of Switzerland. Massimo Vignelli: You can say, "I love you," in Helvetica. https://www.freepik.com/blog/helvetica-documentary-typeface The process of creating a typeface fascinated the director, so he set forth to illuminate the underappreciated discipline. Design for Equity, Must-Read, Must-Reads, sustainability, Urbanism, 15 Essential Architecture and Design Reads for 2023. In light of that I was interested in this documentary about the most popular typeface designed. than any other one, and that's Helvetica. What is bad taste ubiquitous? Of course not. 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. 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. A whole documentary about one typeface. But I don't think it's really quite as simple as that. and it's set in a boring, non-descript way. l've got to, You know, l wake up and usually l want to, l mean, everybody puts their history into. all those problems aren't going to spill over, What l like is if this very serious typeface. They give words a certain coloring. Michael Bierut: It's The Real Thing. At a time when many European countries were recovering from the ravages of war, Helvetica presented a way to express newness and modernity. l see stuff and to me, if it makes me go. And you can say it with Helvetica Extra Light if you want to be really fancy. 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