Gary Hustwit: Helvetica
Why is it that I – without really reflecting upon it – always choose helvetica as my font when I write emails or write a text on this site? Why don’t I take Lucida Bright or TrueOfficinaSansBooKItalic or Times New Roman?
This informative and entertaining feature duration documentary gives me some of the answers: I write on a MacBook and Apple has from the very beginning chosen Helvetica. One answer is like that. Others point in the direction that I like it because it is “beautiful and timeless”, “neutral”, it is “all over”, it has become a standard, it’s clear visual communication.
The director has been all over, talked to designers, found out where it comes from, this 50 year old “sans serif” phenomenon, looked upon Helvetica from a social, political and aesthetic angle – including opponents who find it boring with this “horrible slickness” that the typeface can also be seen to be, and was considered, especially in the 70’es with the psychedelic typography.
It is a very interesting film, well told, veeery wordy, maybe too much, but take a look. It runs in festivals, on tv (I saw it on DR2 in Denmark) everywhere and you can buy it on dvd.
Switzerland, 2008, 80 mins.
