You’re in class assignment for next class (Tuesday Aug 6th), is to watch this movie and read the film’s about page by director Gary Hustwit. Then in the comments section of this post before next Thursday, share your favorite quote from the movie and how you feel about the typeface Helvetica after watching it.
( I may have to approve your comments before it shows up, also the comments are time stamped when you submit them regardless of weather or not they have been approved )
“For us, the disease is what we have around, and what we try to do is cure it somehow with design” “Typographers always had sensitivity about the distance between letters. Within that power is black and white. Typography is really white, it’s not even black, it is really the space between the blacks that really makes it” He then relates it to music and the lyrics versus the beats on the “in-between” space. This really shows me how to think differently about type and how it looks and how it is perceived.
One quote that stood out to me was “The way something is presented will define the way you react to it. You can say the same message but present it in many different type faces.” This was interesting to me, because I never thought about it this way before until watching the film. I now realize how true this statement is and how much type can effect what you’re trying to communicate. I have mixed feelings about the type face Helvetica. On one hand I think it’s boring, but on the other hand I like that it is such a universal font around the world that is so easy to read. The film pointed out an eye opening take on it that said Helvetica can be an open interpretation or it can have one association attached to it. It says everything that is part of its appeal. This made me realize that no matter how boring the text might seem there can be another meaning behind it.
Favorite quote: “Its not about having the latest version of whatever program, if you don’t have the eye, if you don’t have the sense of design then, the programs not going to give it to you.”
I think after watching the movie I not only know more about Helvetica but all fonts in general. I think I have a deeper appreciation of how and where typefaces were made. I know a lot more about the historical context behind these fonts and how they mean different things to different people. Helvetic being the worlds most popular font now means more to me than it used to. Many of the designers of the movie regard it as being the perfect font and one that you couldn’t even make any changes too. Its easy to read which makes it good in a lot of situations and I understand what makes it so popular.
It was very interesting learning about a typeface that I used or seen daily without realizing the impact it had in our society. I am more of a go crazy or match the font with the poster or idea So i would honestly try to go outside the box and be more creative with my fonts for projects unless otherwise. It was interesting to see how some of the talkers in the film admit how they use to like Helvetica and then realize its just a font that is just their and mostly use by everyone everywhere. Some did not hold back on their dislike of the typeface witch was quite funny to watch and har what they had to say about the subject.
My favorite quote from the film is: ” I think I’m right calling Helvetica the perfume of the city. It’s just something we don’t notice usually but we would miss very much if it wouldn’t be there.” I found it very interesting to hear the differing opinions on Helvetica and the reasonings why some do/do not like it. After watching the film I personally feel like Helvetica is a great typeface for people/companies to use in order to create a sense of clean, organized, and modern feel to their work. However, I also agree that using other typefaces may be more appropriate if someone is purposefully trying to create a certain mood/feeling in their work that Helvetica cannot convey. Overall, I enjoy seeing Helvetica being used a lot in everyday life but I also enjoy when people use other typefaces when they are trying to be more expressive.
“You can buy it; I have it; anyone can, it’s called Neo Contact. Anybody can buy it, but Marlboro have made the typeface theirs.”
I found this quote interesting as I am studying marketing, and more specifically, majority of the classes I am taking this semester are focused on advertising. This quote, in my opinion, summed up how common fonts are and how depending on the context can be utilized differently. However, once a brand makes a voice with a specific font, they have effortlessly made it recognizable as their own.
After watching the documentary, I do feel as though I appreciate the time and effort that went into creating the Helvetica font, as well as other “default” fonts that seem similar or “boring.” I think about now and how easy it is to modify and create new fonts, as well as the fact most people are starting to turn to quirky and unique fonts to get away from day-to-day fonts. However, this documentary definitely gave me more insight into the creation and thought process’ behind the fonts we are so used to and rely on.
My favorite quote from the film was from Massimo Vignelli near the beginning of the film. “Typography is really white, it’s not even black. it is the space between the blacks that really makes it. In a sense, it’s like music, it’s not the notes, it’s the space you put between the notes that makes the music.”
After watching the film itself, I realized how many companies truly use Helvetica and how much we see this typeface used every single day. Before the film, I personally was not a huge fan of Helvetica and often change to another font when possible as it always just seemed so basic to me. However, I see now that sometimes even the most basic typeface can express your messages possibly stronger than a more “fancy” or “interesting” one. As Jonathan Hoefler said, “A typeface of icicles or candy canes or something just says one thing. And Helvetica maybe says everything.”
“Graphic Design is the communication framework through which these messages about what the world is now, and what we should aspire to. “
“don’t confuse legibility with communication. And just because something is legible doesn’t mean it’s communicating anything”
“there’s a very thin line between simple clean and powerful and simple clean and boring”
I don’t think there’s necessarily anything wrong with Helvetica, but I do understand the frustration designers have with the typeface. It’s hard to appreciate anything after it’s been overused to death. Helvetica has become the default typeface, and that’s okay, but designers should feel comfortable abandoning the default and finding their own graphic style. I’ve personally never paid much attention to the fonts used throughout the world, but it is amazing how much Helvetica you see when you really pay attention.
My Favorite quote from this documentary was “The meaning is in the context of the text and not in the typeface this is why we love helvetica” I liked this quote because I think it not only extremely accurate but was something that opened my eyes to how different typefaces actually can influence a views perspective. Helvetica can be used to convey a wide variety of emotions, levels of status, or ideas. The unique thing is that none of this is derived from the typeface itself but rather the actual content behind it. The uniformness of helvetica creates a blank slate that allows creators and views to give it context.
“Type is saying things to us all the time. Typeface expresses a mood, an atmosphere. They gave words a certain coloring.” I chose this quote because of the previous conversation that one sense could express all five of our senses. It’s all one of the quotes that stood out to me because of it’s naturalist effect that we use in everyday life.
I thought it was interesting that in the film they said they couldn’t imagine anyone else’s fonts or ideas that could be better than Helvetica. The quote that stood out to me when they were speaking about Helvetica’s modern taste was “And it just seems to be unfixable”. There can’t be improvements to Helvetica according to the people in this documentary. After over fifty years, the font challenges people with its strong, simple and default features. Many companies use Helvetica and make it unique to their own and it’s a universal font to this day. It’s easy to see that the font has a strong effect on all graphic design as the simple black and white letters with space catches the eye.
After watching the film, it got me thinking about some of my work over the past year with graphic design. For some pieces, I find it’s better to keep a clean and simple font that will fit with my visuals. Other times, I can’t picture Helvetica complimenting my work. It’s all about preference for graphic designers.
I thought it was interesting that in the film they said they couldn’t imagine anyone else’s fonts or ideas that could be better than Helvetica. The quote that stood out to me when they were speaking about Helvetica’s modern taste was “And it just seems to be unfixable”. There can’t be improvements to Helvetica according to the people in this documentary. After over fifty years, the font challenges people with its strong, simple and default features. Many companies use Helvetica and make it unique to their own and its a universal font to this day. It’s easy to see that the font has a strong effect on all graphic design as the simple black and white letters with space catches the eye.
After watching the film, it got me thinking about some of my work over the past year with graphic design. For some pieces, I find it’s better to keep a clean and simple font that will fit with my visuals. Other times, I can’t picture Helvetica complimenting my work.
My favorite quote from the movie is by Erik Spiekermann when he stated “it’s default, it’s air, you know. It’s just there. Theres no choice.” In this statement he is talking about the existence of Helvetica as a font and comparing it to the existence of air. This means it will always be there and people have no choice but to live with it. Spiekermann was probably my favorite designer from the film because of his knowledge and brutal demeanor towards the art of type. He was very entertainer to watch speak about something he is so interested in. After watching the film I feel like Helvetica is not as great as i thought it was from how much I see. It is more just used too much because it is the definition of a neutral typeface that is neither bland or extravagant. It sits on the direct center of what is considered normal and companies just ran with it and copied from each-other making it into this default, always there, font.