it's the whole, the guy who designed it tried to make all. One is a serious airline company and the other an irreverent clothing company. Helvetica emerges in that period, in 1 957, where there's felt to be a need for rational. A documentary about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture. Do Not Sell or Share my Personal Information. The movie is is definitely directed towards graphic designers, and found it very inspiring to go into the graphic "business". 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. Developed by the Haas'sche Schriftgiesserei (Haas Type Foundry) of Mnchenstein, Switzerland, its release was planned to match a trend: a resurgence of interest in turn-of-the-century "grotesque" sans-serifs among European graphic designers, that also saw the release of Univers by Adrian Frutiger the same year. l know you got exactly what l was saying. Web. I use several metrics in this. . Period. 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. Notable features of Helvetica as originally designed include a high x-height, the termination of strokes on horizontal or vertical lines and an unusually tight spacing between letters, which combine to give it a dense, compact appearance. 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. I like both sides of the argument. Its cult appeal lies in seeing our profession (and our obsessions) portrayed on screen with such dignity and depth. oh it's brilliant when it's done well. Hello??? Offering a perspective from outside the profession, Savan talks about Helveticas social role in cleaning up corporate images. Type is saying things to us all the time. 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. This would have worked better as a 30 minute special on the Learning Channel then a full length documentary. 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. Some designers find Helvetica to be predictable and boring. I saw this film last night at the Rochester Institute of Technology in the company of hundreds of budding graphic designers, new media specialists, and fans of typography. And certain things shouldn't be messed with, you know? I can't explain it. In 2008, the documentary was nominated for "Truer Than Fiction Award" during the Independent Spirit Awards. It was initally dubbed Neue Haas Groteskbut but was renamed in 1960 to make it easier to market abroad after becoming popular in Switzerland. It not a letter that bent to shape; it's a letter that lives in a powerful matrix of surrounding space. Helveticahad its World Premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2007. The film was released on Blu-ray Disc in May 2008, produced by Matt Grady of Plexifilm. It's just it's just there. point where we accepted that it's just there. 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. A diatribe (by some) about a font seen At that time, I studies typefaces to make sure that my paper looked as good as it could. 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. Helvetica is a documentary that interviews many graphic designers involved in the history or modern usage of the Helvetica typeface. How could a film about a font be so good? Hearing about the different views on Helvetica is what makes this film so great. External Reviews Helvetica is a neo-grotesque or realist design, one influenced by the famous 19th century typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk and other German and Swiss designs. What's so important about the empty space? Massimo Vignelli: You can say, "I love you," in Helvetica. Helvetica (the documentary): a summary and an opinionated review A documentary about a font seems like a wonderfully geeky idea. Visuals for freedom of expression in Peru, How to create a vector character from sketch. 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. Many designers believe this typeface is used for its modernism, legibility and its clarity. They'll still follow the plot, but, you know, be convinced or affected. This movie is brilliant. Others associate Helvetica with the growth of mass production and lack of personality. And in fact, maybe they don't exist.". 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. Amazingly, most of us walked out in wonder. At a time when many European countries were recovering from the ravages of war, Helvetica presented a way to express newness and modernity. And what they were against was Helvetica. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface as part of a larger conversation The marketing director at Stempel had the, This is very important: Helvetia is the Latin, You cannot call a typeface after the name. This typeface can be seen all over the world. to bring two or three layers into the work. Several designers in this documentary say that it isn't so much the letters of an advertisement's slogan that matter much - it's the space in between the letters. 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. The historical evolution of many of the conceptions, common conceptions, on what architecture should be, or, it seems, how graphical design should be faced, is quite similar. Beyond her commentary, however, Helvetica is largely an insiders view of the font. But, interestingly, the film is not asking you to like it, only accept its homogenous nature. Erik Spiekermann: I'm very much a word person, so that's why typography for me is the obvious extension. 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. Erik Spiekermann: [sighs] Why is bad taste ubiquitous? The film was released on DVD in November 2007 by Plexifilm. l did, which believe me, is just the worst job you. 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. It really does justice to a topic that is so often overlooked. Helvetica: A Documentary, A History, An Anthropology. User Ratings It is just something we don't notice usually but we would miss very much if it wouldn't be there. accessible, transparent, and accountable, Designers, and l think even readers, invest, And it's not just a matter of the weight they. ln the beginning, if you see the sketches. Helveticaencompasses 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. They have a different point of view from mine. Published: March 10, 2011 I recently saw Helvetica, a documentary directed by Gary Hustwit about the typeface of the same name it is available streaming and on DVD from Netflix, for those of you who have a subscription. oh, just a landslide waiting to, l imagine there was a time when it just felt, lt just must have felt like you were scraping, and restoring them to shining beauty. Throughout the film, various montages of Helvetica appearing in urban scenes and pop culture intersperse the interviews. If you say to yourself, "80 minutes about a typeface?" interesting body of work over a lifetime? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); WatchDocumentaries.com | Games | Quizzes | Contact |Privacy & Terms | Manage Cookies |Advertise | DMCA. I have some writing background in the music press. dealing with mother in laws is just horrific. 2023. You know, it seems like air? Its use became a Rick Poynor: Type is saying things to us all the time. 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. Palinopsia (Whats Up with Eagle and Serpent? it's like being asked what you think about. DNA is just a couple of letterforms like that. Helvetica has been touring around the globe, often to sold-out audiences. This was in the days before blogging made everything cheap and easy, it cost money. '', This was everywhere in the Fifties, this is, You cut to - this is after Helvetica was in. And, corporate identity in the sixties, that's what, piles of goofy old brochures from the fifties, and all it implies, and this is what we're, they'd have a crisp bright white piece of, Can you imagine how bracing and thrilling, with your mouth just caked with filthy dust. and descenders and all that kind of thing. And it's hard to get your head around, it's that big. l think that the whole image of modernism. that Helvetica is a sort of global monster. 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