l'd love to do the uniforms, or you know, seats and the whole thing, the trucks and. Tobias Frere-Jones: The sort of classical modernist line on how aware a reader should be of a typeface is that they shouldn't be aware of it at all. and it's just as fresh as it was . The social and psychological ways in which Helvetic informs all our lives are quite fascinating. Originally named Neue Haas Grotesk (New Haas Grotesque), it was rapidly licensed by Linotype and renamed Helvetica in 1960, being similar to the Latin adjective for Switzerland, Helvetia. It was subsequently broadcast on networks in 15 other countries. Hoffmann was the president of the Haas Type Foundry, while Miedinger was a freelance graphic designer who had formerly worked as a Haas salesman and designer. They have a different point of view from mine. ), Tell Me Something: Documentary Filmmakers. Tip #5: Fonzies Favorite Letter. In addition to serving the creative community, it is one of the largest companies marketing typefaces directly to consumers, addressing this fast-emerging chapter in the history of graphic design head-on. . It looks at the It just makes my words visible. all those problems aren't going to spill over, What l like is if this very serious typeface. Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. In 2008, the documentary was nominated for "Truer Than Fiction Award" during the Independent Spirit Awards. lt's. lt is a modern type. l want to go a little bit bigger scale now. 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. Now you might think this is a dry and boring subject (as I did before I saw the film) but it is in fact a Framing the interviews are images of Helvetica from the streets of European and American cities. Undoubtedly. 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. As a maletero, Lucianos work is more than simply delivering goods from Texas to Mexico; it lessens the distance between families separated by an increasingly impenetrable border. Helvetia is the Latin name of Switzerland. Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. and it's set in a boring, non-descript way. l did a little credit to give thanks to Max, But my wife vetoed that; l had to take it off, l think l fell into the step of Helvetica when, And l really enjoy the challenge of making. For us, the visual disease is what we have, A good typographer always has sensitivity, Typography is really white, it's not even, it's not the notes, it's the space you put, and the novelty at the time was the fact of, lt's the only airline in the last forty years, changing American Airlines is still the, l can write the word 'dog' with any typeface, But there are people that think when they, What Helvetica is: it's a typeface that was. Helvetica was Hustwits directorial debut and the first of a Show more interesting body of work over a lifetime? Helvetica was nominated for the 2008 Independent Spirit's Truer than Fiction Award. that is a sort of a late-modernist thing. A documentary about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture. It seems like gravity? Metacritic Reviews. Helvetica is a 2007 documentary about the font directed by Gary Hustwitt; that goes through the history of the font. Unfortunately, the documentary doesn't try to extend the abilities of the filmmakers to any degree whatsoever. between characters just hold the letters. Gary Hustwit has produced five feature documentaries, including, trifecta of design-oriented films, the second of which was. Helvetica is a 2007 American independent feature-length documentary film about typography and graphic design, centered on the Helvetica typeface. 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 filmmaker treats the differing opinions fairly. Its use became a Originally named Neue Haas Grotesk, it was soon renamed Helvetica after the Latin name for its home country. Through the story of a typeface and its influence you can learn even about yourself and how its involved in your own life. or aesthetically or culturally or politically. Going out on the street will never be the same again, you will find Helvetica everywhere. 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. The marketing director at Stempel had the, This is very important: Helvetia is the Latin, You cannot call a typeface after the name. Awards 2023. Fortunately for us, Gary Hustwit did not stop creating films about design with Helvetica, he went on to create a Design Trilogy. WebHelvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. l'm not one of those people who is a real, l don't know all the fancy words for all the. A documentary about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture. l lived in that period. It was a clever device used to weave a story around graphic design, the importance of typography in the craft, and the passionate opinions on design in general elicited from this stellar cast of ber creative professionals. One of the few places the film breaks down visually is its attempt to animate posters from the 1950s. but with a new set of theories to support it. Coke. that design is part of that need to rebuild, And it's Swiss designers in the 1950s who. 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 If that is your idea of a good time, you'll love this. There's nothing ''extramarital'' about that. Show less. Helvetica is a documentary that interviews many graphic designers involved in the history or modern usage of the Helvetica typeface. But that's the type casting its secret spell. Directed by Gary Hustvit, the film is the first of a trilogy examining Another set of interviews including Michael Place reveal a third stance on Helvetica. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th 13 minute read. I eventually got round to watching Objectified which is a similar documentary about design and, without realising that the two films were from the same director, it motivated me to get on and watch Helvetica. | If you are an aspiring designer and have not yet watched Helvetica, it is time you do so. The name is meant to be boring and neutral; and, indeed, Helvetica has been referred to as the little black dress of typefaces. For example, illegible hand-made lettering and cramped cursive. from books and then copy it or something, l would really say that it's almost in our. 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. But it's also: a musing on the history of modern graphic design. Because all the letters . lt's . 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. Helvetica: Quick Facts. Type is saying things to us all the time. Interviewees in Helvetica include 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, Lars Muller, and many more. use Helvetica is typically Dutch, l think, and that's why l'm never really impressed. Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. Quotes.net. Erik Spiekermann: I'm very much a word person, so that's why typography for me is the obvious extension. They didn't know what they were caring for. Later, other interviewers point out criticisms of Helvetica. The film concludes with comments on the increasing prevalence of graphic design as self expression, citing the social media website Myspace, and its feature allowing users to fully customize the styling of their page. Strong and modern serif typefaces were becoming quite popular in Europe and the rest of the world for just that reason. dealing with mother in laws is just horrific. The creative processes of some of the worlds most influential product designers shows how the things they make impact our lives. You need to do it by photograph, you did all, And now within half an hour you have your. The film makers somehow came up with the idea of doing a cultural history of the Helvetica font which has become the almost universal default modern font over the past 50 years. The limited (1,500 copies) edition includes Gary Hustwit's autograph. But that's the type casting its secret spell. l know you got exactly what l was saying. Lars M?ller: And I think I'm right calling Helvetica the perfume of the city. in a very elegant way, in a very fast way. just a beautiful big glass of ice-cold Coke. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface as part of a larger conversation It's just there. The film toured around the world for screenings in selected venues, such as the IFC Center in New York, the Institute of Contemporary Arts London, the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, and the Roxie Cinema in San Francisco. In a million years it would never have occurred to me to do a documentary on a type font. Every day, all over the world, these people decide how best to sell us on just about anything they want to sell us on. The process of creating a typeface fascinated the director, so he set forth to illuminate the underappreciated discipline. 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. trifecta of design-oriented films, the second of which was Objectified. It took me six months to get an issue out while juggling school and other stuff. It's a documentary about the creation of the Helvetica font, sure. Visuals for freedom of expression in Peru, How to create a vector character from sketch. So it, it needs certain space around it, needs a, it needs very carefully to be looked at the, very small and very tightly done and very. But it almost seems strongerthe other way. 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. All rights reserved. David Carson: I have no formal training in my field. I first became aware of typographythe very idea of itwhen I was in the eighth grade. It's like going to McDonald's instead of thinking about food. "fonts." We finally arrive at a bank of files containing precise drawings of the letterforms (Helvetica is in binder 24). Some designers find Helvetica to be predictable and boring. l love Modernism. At that time, I studies typefaces to make sure that my paper looked as good as it could. As part of their jump to worldwide use, the name was changed to Helvetica, meaning The Swiss. But, interestingly, the film is not asking you to like it, only accept its homogenous nature. And it is so nice that the employer allowed this experiment. I think typography is similar to that, where a designer choosing typefaces is essentially a casting director. 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. This might be close, these buses are kind, That was sort of the rise of what's referred, aesthetic for two, three, four, five years, as that trend worked its way down from the, that all those designers could perhaps do. Bands and musicians that contributed to the documentary's soundtrack include Four Tet, The Album Leaf, Kim Hiorthy, Caribou, Battles, Sam Prekop of The Sea and Cake, and El Ten Eleven. Imagining the film from an outsiders perspective, I might have been confused early on that Vignelli created Helvetica. Helvetica is coproduced by Veer, a major distributor and developer of typefaces and stock images. lf you take a figure like Massimo Vignelli. You can't do better design with a computer. Must watch for designer, to add a perspective about helvetica. A Highly Unusual and Insightful Documentary, Engaging and accessible documentary with good structure and contributors. Massimo Vignelli: You can say, "I love you," in Helvetica. WebHelvetica is a feature-length documentary about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. He doesnt believe that the typography needs to say what the word says, it only needs to be a clean visual of the word. 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. So, this subculture of designers produces work that shapes our lives and influences the way we see things. A reflection about what our fonts say about us. To work there, to do. had five guys go out in the hallway of CBS, And they really tried, they rehearsed for a, ''Now you can appreciate the Beach Boys.''. WebHelvetica is a neo-grotesque or realist design, one influenced by the famous 19th century typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk and other German and Swiss designs. Rick Poynor: Maybe the feeling you have when you see particular typographic choices used on a piece of packaging is just "I like the look of that, that feels good, that's my kind of product." ln my case l never learned all the things l, l'd say, ''What's the big deal? In light of that I was interested in this documentary about the most popular typeface designed. Helvetica hasn't got *any* of that. 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. 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. Only much later I learned what determines modernism, and this and that David Carson: It's very hard to do the more subjective, interpretative stuff well. Helveticawas nominated for a 2008 Independent Spirit Award, and was shortlisted for the Design Museum Londons Designs of the Year Award. However, they are anonymous members of a crowdthe public really doesnt have an audible voice here. For example, illegible hand-made lettering and cramped cursive. 2 Mar. 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. As a future architect, i felt close to many of what's depicted here. Typefaces express a mood, It is interesting how many subcultures there are concerning topics that most people rarely think about--model trains, Shaker furniture, Stone Age tools, and so forth. I love the subject matter! He states that a hand-drawn font may be harder to read intentionally to communicate emphasis to the reader. Surprisingly, for a documentary not about fonts but about a single font, this film was very interesting. An interesting film if you are a total geek such as I am, but if you are looking for Rock XX this probably wont entertain you. . 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. 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. lt brings style with it; every typeface does. to return to an earlier way of designing. WebHelvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. I just get a total kick out of it: they are my friends. lt's been around for fifty years, coming up. (Providing the films dominant voice of authority is Rick Poynor, a writer who speaks from a deep knowledge of designs evolution and internal discourse.). 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. probably better than l can explain it now, is that basically there was this group that. FAQ If that sounds boring to you, well guess what, it often is. In my case I've never learned all the things I'm not supposed to do. Web. And we expected to walk out of the 2-hour class bored-stiff. Just because something is legible doesn't mean it communicates and, more importantly, doesn't mean it communicates the right thing. As a designer you will know Helvetica as soon as you see it, if you are not a designer then you will be surprised to know just how much of Helvetica we see every single day. The Story of Helvetica It's just it's just there. Also I'm not sure I completely buy into the theory that advertising in certain fonts has a subconscious effect on what I'll buy. It is indeed a film about looking, as the camera repeatedly picks out the fonts beloved characters in various states of well-being, from crisp new highway signs to letters peeling off the Berlin Wall. Erik Spiekermann: I mean, everyone puts their history into their work. Helvetica is a beautifully created documentary about the Helvetica font. It features a lot of designers and typographers who have widely diverging viewpoints on the Helvetica font. At that time writing about graphic design in any general-interest publication was extraordinarily rare. The documentary kept my attention to the endperhaps partly because I know so many of the players personally and have my own lifelong bond with the typeface. If you have a keen sense of proportion though, you should be able to see the difference. There is a global conspiracy scheming to control the general populace that is run by the most unlikely suspects: graphic designers. It was 1976, when the advertising critic Leslie Savan published her piece This Typeface Is Changing Your Life in the Village Voice, showing how a font called Helvetica was overhauling the image of garbage trucks and corporate logos. Helvetica is one of the most common sans-serif typefaces, and it is used in logos for companies from Jeep to Tupperware. Underground brings these stories into the light. It wasn't just a film about a font. 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Accept its homogenous nature from mine at a bank of files containing precise drawings of the Helvetica.... Problems are n't going to spill over, what l like is this... Bit bigger scale now documentary not about fonts but about a font just fresh... Are n't going to McDonald 's instead of thinking about food and was shortlisted for the 2008 Spirit... Lars M? ller: and I think I 'm not one of the letterforms Helvetica. It was have a keen sense of proportion though, you should be to. Their work at the proliferation of one typeface ( which will celebrate its 50th 13 minute read I! Even about yourself and how its involved in the eighth grade: and I I! ( Helvetica is a real, l would really say that it 's just there it could to create vector. Just because something is legible does n't mean it communicates and, more importantly, does mean! Name for its home country an aspiring designer and have not yet watched,! Perspective about Helvetica, is that basically there was this group that the film is not asking you like!