#Helvetica font documentary how to
#Helvetica font documentary movie

Until I watched the film, I was oblivious to just how much Helvetica had shaped my world. The film takes the viewer through the 60-plus-year history of Helvetica while gathering the opinions and thoughts of designers and typographers around the world. I came to grips with this while watching Helvetica, a documentary film dedicated to the proliferation and appreciation of the Helvetica font. The film is available on DVDР’В at or can be rented at Videoscope on El Camino.My name is Jeanne Weiss and IРІР‚в„ўm a font nerd.

Most people will probably not stop to look at what font a block of text is before they read it, even after watching the movie, but it would be a shame to completely ignore such an intrinsic part of modern life. ItРІР‚в„ўs unavoidable, and it affects everyone. Whether or not it is overtly noticeable, typography is everywhere-from street signs to cereal boxes. The film gives an interesting look at the font and at the ancient profession which produced in a visually and intellectually engaging way. It includes many different perspectives toward the font, including a few designers who utterly despise the font, describing it as overrated and overused. РІР‚СљHelveticaРІР‚Сњ is not focused only towards an audience of likeminded, design-oriented individuals, or even toward those who particularly like Helvetica.

#Helvetica font documentary movie

There are even websites like (РІР‚Сљdevoted to fonts, typefaces and all things typographicalРІР‚Сњ) and an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York celebrating the anniversary of Helvetica.Р”Р„lthough this way of looking at type is usually limited to designers who either make or use typefaces, the movie and the exhibit show people an entirely new way way of looking at the world around them, or at least the text within it. РІР‚СљI rather hope theyРІР‚в„ўre not aware of my presence,РІР‚Сњ Carter said in a DVD extra,РІР‚Сњ If someone whoРІР‚в„ўs reading a daily newspaper or magazine becomes conscious of the type, itРІР‚в„ўs generally because thereРІР‚в„ўs a problem.РІР‚СњР”В«ut to a surprising number of people like Carter, typefaces are very important. Typeface designer Matthew Carter, who created the fonts Tahoma, Verdana and Georgia as well as many others, is interviewed in the film. When the font left its birthplace of Switzerland for English-speaking countries, its name was changed to something a little less grotesque: Helvetica, a derivation of the Latin name for Switzerland Confederation Helvetica.Р”Р„lthough the film focuses mostly on Helvetica, it also explores the typography or type designing profession and gives and interesting look into the minds of the people that provide the world with fonts. The film follows the typeface from its creation in 1957 when it began as Neue Haas Grotesk, a new sans-serif font by Max Miedinger.

Logos, advertising, street signs, computers-the font follows people everywhere, and they hardly notice it just as they are not really supposed to. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the ubiquitous font. The 2007 documentary РІР‚СљHelveticaРІР‚Сњ attempts to make people think about design and how information is conveyed in its exploration of one the most common fonts, Helvetica.

And thatРІР‚в„ўs the way some type designers think it should be. People digest a lot of text in an average day and hardly ever notice the font or typeface in which the text is written. The language is associated with typography: in laymanРІР‚в„ўs terms, font design.

#Helvetica font documentary how to

If someone started talking about ascenders, ligatures, serifs and spines, many people would have no idea how to react. By Claire Bedard, Senior Writer | March 25, 2008