Helvetic Film

I really enjoyed the Helvetica film and not just because I am studying design. I found it really interesting to see how the typeface developed, how it was created and for what purpose it was designed.

It was also interesting to see the initial sketches for a typeface and to see how people worked with metal type, creating typography work by hand before the use of computers. This method of working by hand really appeals to me and I would love to try it as it seems more limited to 'real' designers and people with skill, as now anyone who has a computer and some fonts at their disposal can create typography. As computers are now used for design and printing metal type has become old fashioned, and to people outside of the design industry so has typography, or at least the design of typography. One type designer talks about being asked what he does for a living and receiving a response of 'really I thought all the type designers were dead', which I found quite funny.

Although as David Carson said in the film, just because you have the latest computer program doesn’t mean you will be able to create good work with it, if you don’t have skill and an eye for design, you will be able to produce type with a computer but it wont be any good.'

The film really opened my eyes as to how often Helvetica is used and how oblivious I have been to its use. Helvetica has almost become common due to it wide use, but to say so seems 'wrong'. The typeface is so versatile that it can be moulded to different uses and still be appropriate. Helvetica was designed to be a neutral typeface, as the designers thought that feeling should come from the content of the text and not the typeface it is printed in. it was said in the film that would can say 'I love you' and 'I hate you' in Helvetica and both would work with the correct impact and meaning. It is so difficult to explain the feeling when you know have chosen the correct typeface, you are not quite sure why exactly it works well but it just gives you the feeling that it 'fits'. Helvetica 'fits' for so many uses, but in a way its versatility has become its defining attribute. Neville Brody talks about how he thinks Helvetica now conveys the ordinary and suggests a safeness. Brody spoke about Helvetica as though it has now become boring due to its wide use despite its adaptability.

I am only recently aware of Helvetica despite having grown up with it around me. Now that I have seen the film and know about the origins of the typeface I really appreciate how successful and skillful a design it is. Also now that I have been asked the question I would say I am pro-Helvetica and after watching the film I would be more inclined to use it in the future. I disagree with Brody as I think that although it has become 'common' it is successful in most of its uses, due to its great versatility allowing it to moulded to different designs, which stops it from being boring and makes it a great timeless typeface.