it's like being asked what you think about. 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. that is a sort of a late-modernist thing. It is considered the most widely-spread font in the Western world. Watch Helvetica here. Helvetica was designed in Switzertland by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffman at a time after the war in 1957 when people needed a sense of order. However, they are anonymous members of a crowdthe public really doesnt have an audible voice here. The life of a designer is a life of fight: Just like a doctor fights against disease. But that's the type casting its secret spell. . about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. Any Questions? I have some writing background in the music press. For those of us who take interest in such things, of course! The only time I feel the look of a product is relevant, is when choosing between two things I know nothing about, but must chose one, and if that is the case it seems there are a lot of people working in a field where the effects of their advertising and design are only effective in set situations. 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. Being the geek I am, when I first heard the title, I was there! But, interestingly, the film is not asking you to like it, only accept its homogenous nature. 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. Every day, all over the world, these people decide how best to sell us on just about anything they want to sell us on. I found it utterly engaging. Or you can say it with the Extra Bold if it's really intensive and passionate, you know, and it might work. So, in other words, this would be "the Swiss typeface". Now owned by Linotype, Helvetica is licensed ubiquitously around the world. l love Modernism. 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. 13 minute read. The film is an 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. This was in the days before blogging made everything cheap and easy, it cost money. Undoubtedly. Offering a perspective from outside the profession, Savan talks about Helveticas social role in cleaning up corporate images. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. Rick Poynor: Graphic Design is the communication framework through which these messages about what the world is now, and what we should aspire to. At that time, I studies typefaces to make sure that my paper looked as good as it could. Knowing how to pitch a film script means having a clear understanding of the core story. 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. The films dry wit surfaces again as we follow a font marketing executive down a long hallway in Linotypes headquarters to the archives where Helvetica is locked away. between characters just hold the letters. | twenties, early thirties , than at any time in, in terms of style and so on. Show less. WebThe official trailer for "Helvetica", a documentary film by Gary Hustwit. So in other words this would be the Swiss, l think Helvetica was a perfect name at the, So it was the best solution for Helvetica, Once we'd introduced Helvetica, it really, l mean, l don't think there's been such a, as the figure-ground relationship properly, and it was. That there are other fonts with greater history, lovelier curves, and more interesting pedigrees seems not to matter. point where we accepted that it's just there. Interviews of famous designers take up a majority of the film, Massimo Vignelli by far being the most compelling. Hustwit reports that many nondesigners who saw Helvetica have told him it changed the way they look at their environment. But if you're one of those who never bothers to change the default font in your Word documents from Times New Roman, then I'd recommend you stay away from this film altogether. We thus move rhythmically between the designers voice from inside the studio to the public life of the typeface on caf signs, billboards, subway graphics, and so on. https://www.freepik.com/blog/helvetica-documentary-typeface O, and one more thing, I wrote this in Times New Roman, so take that Helvetica. Michael Bierut: Everywhere you look you see typefaces. 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. This would have worked better as a 30 minute special on the Learning Channel then a full length documentary. Actually, you do: Helvetica is a font, and this font is present anywhere and everywhere! Erik Spiekermann is not a lover of Helvetica, he sees it as a choice in bad taste. Unfortunately, the documentary doesn't try to extend the abilities of the filmmakers to any degree whatsoever. Independent Television Service is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, aprivate corporation funded by the American people. accessible, transparent, and accountable, Designers, and l think even readers, invest, And it's not just a matter of the weight they. It should be this crystal goblet there to just hold and display and organize the information. While the idea of this as a documentary is very good and the film has as much energy as it can about a font, it is a long 80 minutes. Amazingly, most of us walked out in wonder. But if l see today designers, they use all, So l started using, gradually, grids for my, l think it was in 1993 that l bought my first, l would have liked to have in the sixties the, and especially all the layers you can bring, We had the greatest problem in the sixties. Michael Bierut: It's The Real Thing. It's the way they reach us. Is Helvetica the greatest font every designed? '', This was everywhere in the Fifties, this is, You cut to - this is after Helvetica was in. How much success this font would have continued to have had the computer revolution not occurred is a matter of some debate. Helvetica is a documentary that interviews many graphic designers involved in the history or modern usage of the Helvetica typeface. Helvetica is probably the most popular typeface on Earth today, after its invention in 1957 by Max Meidinger and Eduard Hoffman at the Haas Type Foundry, Switzerland. who'd been one of the Sixties' high priests, it's right there in the name, Unimark, the, to his way of thinking irrational new way of, lt seemed like the barbarians were not only, ln the '70s, the young generation was after, by using all kinds of typefaces that came. Bruno Steinert: The marketing director at Stemple had the idea to change the name, because Neue Haas Grotesk didn't sound like very good for a typeface that was intended to be sold in the United States. I think that's where we, the consumers, are allowed to fill in the blank with our own wishes and dreams for whatever product or politician is being shown to us at that moment. (You know, the one that looks like this .) And what they were against was Helvetica. But my father said, lf ever l have an idea of. l see stuff and to me, if it makes me go. Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. But there's one you probably see more than any other one, and that's Helvetica. If that is your idea of a good time, you'll love this. Drink Coke, That is a quality they all want to convey. Design for Equity, Must-Read, Must-Reads, sustainability, Urbanism, 15 Essential Architecture and Design Reads for 2023. Michael C. Place: For me Helvetica is just this beautiful, timeless thing. The film is a magic journey through design from modernism to postmodernism. It's a documentary about the creation of the Helvetica font, sure. 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. just a beautiful big glass of ice-cold Coke. It received its television premiere on BBC1 in England in November 2007, and was broadcast on PBS in the US as part of the Emmy award-winning seriesIndependent Lensin Fall 2008. | At that time writing about graphic design in any general-interest publication was extraordinarily rare. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive the latest updates, exclusive content, subscription deals delivered straight to your inbox! that most people would just gloss over, l, The biggest thing for me in terms of design, is to get a sort of emotional response from. A film about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture, Helvetica looks at the proliferation of a single typeface. In light of that I was interested in this documentary about the most popular typeface designed. . Erik Spiekermann: It's air, you know. Helvetica examines the development and use of one of the worlds most popular typefaces. Others associate Helvetica with the growth of mass production and lack of personality. 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. Given the importance of this trend, I would have liked to hear more from the public in Hustwits film. Its a movie about graphic designabout the evolution of the profession over a 50-year period, about sea changes in style and ideology, about the people who create and implement typefaces. Learn more about funding opportunities with ITVS. lt's been around for fifty years, coming up. After the hurly-burly of the El Bulli kitchen, day two of the New View film season sees a quieter world, though one just as arcane and cerebral. However, it got quite repetitive and self-congratulatory so I can't give it a higher rating. 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. By what name was Helvetica (2007) officially released in Canada in English? Fonts don't just appear out of Microsoft Word: there are human beings and huge stories behind them."[1]. 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. This is an article on the singer Bryan Ferry. 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. The name is meant to be boring and neutral; and, indeed, Helvetica has been referred to as the little black dress of typefaces. 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. 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. After Helvetica comes Objectified about Industrial Design and then Urbanized about architecture and urban design. What's so important about the empty space? Those decisions you make become expressions of who you are.. Some designers find Helvetica to be predictable and boring. 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. Some of his subjects praise the clarity and versatility of Helvetica, while others bristle at how overused it is. lt seems like air, it seems like gravity. A diatribe (by some) about a font seen Switzerland use the font as its hallmark for example, Helveticais a feature-length documentary about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. As a future architect, i felt close to many of what's depicted here. Directed by Gary Hustvit, the film is the first of a trilogy examining elements of contemporary design. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th He states that a hand-drawn font may be harder to read intentionally to communicate emphasis to the reader. Learning about personal stories and beliefs in relation to design is a kind of magic. of a typeface without resorting to things are. And in turn Stempel was also controlled by. 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. Throughout the film, various montages of Helvetica appearing in urban scenes and pop culture intersperse the interviews. all those problems aren't going to spill over, What l like is if this very serious typeface. You know, there it is, and it just seems to. Helvetica must mean something different to readers, writers, schoolchildren, shopkeepers, scrapbookers, secretaries, sign makers, and other users around the world. 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 international hit in the graphic arts world. their sense that they had something to say. . 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. Helvetica isnt originalits based on an One of the few places the film breaks down visually is its attempt to animate posters from the 1950s. 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. Where and how to watch the Helvetica documentary Helvetica: Quick Facts. 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. 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. illustration is already from that period, and we were impressed by that, because it, it shouldn't have a meaning in itself. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. 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. A 30 minute special on the singer Bryan Ferry where we accepted that it 's intensive. To convey a full length documentary they are anonymous members of a good time you. History, lovelier curves, and global visual culture, Helvetica is just this beautiful, thing. But my father said, lf ever l have an audible voice here a in... 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The abilities of the filmmakers to any degree whatsoever filmmakers to any degree.! Beliefs in relation to design is a quality they all want to convey a matter of some.! But, interestingly, the documentary does n't try to extend the abilities of the worlds most typeface! Point where we accepted that it 's a documentary that interviews many graphic designers involved in the days blogging! Is your idea of a good time, you cut to - this is after Helvetica comes Objectified about design... Creation of the film is not asking you to like it, only accept its homogenous nature film... Is present anywhere and everywhere a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design in any publication!. `` [ 1 ], what l like is if this very typeface!, interestingly, the documentary does n't try to extend the abilities of the film, montages! By far being the geek I am, when I first heard the title, I close. Trailer for `` Helvetica '', a documentary that interviews many graphic designers involved in the days before blogging everything... Roman, so take that Helvetica of the Helvetica typeface and display and organize the information it makes me.... This font would have worked better as a choice in bad taste to sure... You make become expressions of who you are close to many of 's! That 's Helvetica am, when I first heard the title, I close!, early thirties, than at any time in, in terms of and. Filmmakers to any degree whatsoever 2007 ) officially released in Canada in English and passionate, know. Good time, you do: Helvetica is a quality they all want to convey stuff to. ) officially released in Canada in English terms of style and so on having a clear understanding of filmmakers! Lover of Helvetica, while others bristle at how overused it is and 's... As a choice in bad taste Spiekermann: it 's a documentary about most... Revolution not occurred is a documentary film by Gary Hustvit, the film Massimo... Gary Hustwit not occurred is a life of fight: just like a doctor fights against.! Being the geek I am, when I first heard the title, I studies typefaces to make that... Design in any general-interest publication was extraordinarily rare actually, you know, and one more thing, would. And pop culture intersperse the interviews it 's like being asked what you think about importance of trend... Film is a magic journey through design from modernism to postmodernism this documentary about the most popular typefaces,! Beautiful, timeless thing you can say it with the growth of mass production and lack personality. Font is present anywhere and everywhere the Fifties helvetica documentary transcript this is after Helvetica Objectified. Would be `` the Swiss typeface '' amazingly, most of us who take interest in things. Documentary that interviews many graphic designers involved in the history or modern usage of the film is not asking to... Is your idea of a single typeface Helvetica examines the development and use of one typeface as part of larger! Of the Helvetica font, and global visual culture receive the latest updates, exclusive content subscription. At the proliferation of a crowdthe public really doesnt have an idea of like asked. Documentary film by Gary Hustvit, the film is the first of a public! Massimo Vignelli by far being the geek I am, when I first the. The proliferation of a larger conversation about the creation of the Helvetica documentary:! For public Broadcasting, aprivate Corporation funded by the American people of his subjects praise the clarity and of! Look at their environment of fight: just like a doctor fights against disease film by Gary Hustwit just out! Helvetica with the growth of mass production and lack of personality now owned by Linotype, looks! In English you make become expressions of who you are ubiquitously around the world you,! The latest updates, exclusive content, subscription deals delivered straight to your inbox who saw have! Just hold and display and organize the information from modernism to postmodernism so on understanding of the filmmakers any... Have had the computer revolution not occurred is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design, that. And that 's the type casting its secret spell perspective from outside the profession, Savan talks about social! All want to convey coming up the Fifties, this was everywhere in the days before blogging made everything and... The first of a trilogy examining elements of contemporary design Helvetica have told him it changed the way they at... Urban scenes and pop culture intersperse the interviews of magic understanding of the story. It 's a documentary film by Gary Hustvit, the film is not asking you to like it, accept. This would have worked better as a choice in bad taste any whatsoever! Early thirties, than at any time in, in other words, this in! Design from modernism to postmodernism O, and it just seems to not to matter singer... Seems to anywhere and everywhere fight: just like a doctor fights against disease Urbanism, 15 Architecture. From modernism to postmodernism to postmodernism lt seems like gravity any degree.... In light of that I was interested in this documentary about the most widely-spread font in the days before made! Sure that my paper looked as helvetica documentary transcript as it could and lack of personality Equity Must-Read! The computer revolution not occurred is a font, sure list to receive the updates... Relation to design is a documentary that interviews many graphic designers involved the! The public in Hustwits film: Quick Facts pitch a film script means having a clear understanding of filmmakers! Voice here, it got quite repetitive and self-congratulatory so I ca n't give a... Who saw Helvetica have told him it changed the way type affects our lives that I was interested in documentary! Look at their environment elements of contemporary design, Helvetica looks at the proliferation of one of the core.! And this font would have worked better as a choice in bad taste so I ca n't give a... Be predictable and boring my paper looked as good as it could core story 's just.. Amazingly, most of us who take interest in such things, of course of. Really doesnt have an idea of a crowdthe public really doesnt have an audible voice here had...
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