The packaging of the Blu-ray version was designed by Experimental Jetset, who also appeared in the film, and printed by A to Z Media.[3]. 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. and l was like, oh man, how disappointing, And l went through all my fonts, which at, uhm, well, it still is for that matter, and, And l finally came to the bottom and there, which of course now it's Zapf Dingbats so. We get some sense that people are conscious users of typography when the camera shows us young urban folk wearing font-covered clothing and accessories. It's a documentary about the creation of the Helvetica font, sure. So l get obsessed about things, l collect, you know, l've got so many bits and scraps. The film was released on DVD in November 2007 by Plexifilm. 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. Helvetica premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2007. In contrast, shooting printed matter directly from books or magazines works surprisingly well throughout the documentary, especially in a scene where Bierut shows us quirky typefaces from a magazine in the 1950s, followed by a Coke ad from the 60s set in Helvetica. | Their subjects lend a nice sense of immediacy to their dialogs without being too on the edge or too indulgent (save one). . 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. Helvetica is a neo-grotesque or realist design, one influenced by the famous 19th century typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk and other German and Swiss designs. Desktop publishing didnt exist, and even graphic designers had little direct access to fonts, relying on expensive typesetting services to get the real thing and muddling along with Presstype, specimen books, and pencil sketches. With its clean, smooth lines, it reflected a modern look that many designers were seeking. As a future architect, i felt close to many of what's depicted here. It is just something we don't notice usually but we would miss very much if it wouldn't be there. If there is any that deserves the honour, it is definitely Helvetica. It's like being asked what you think about off-white paint. Helvetica was nominated for the 2008 Independent Spirit's Truer than Fiction Award. Hearing about the different views on Helvetica is what makes this film so great. is that they shouldn't be aware of it at all. ln my case l never learned all the things l, l'd say, ''What's the big deal? He aptly named the film HELVETICA. 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. l'd love to do the uniforms, or you know, seats and the whole thing, the trucks and. They give words a certain coloring. 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. 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. As a film it's boring, but as a font movie it is amazing! there to just hold and display and organize, the information. our archives where we can find Helvetica. Or you can say it with the Extra Bold if it's really intensive and passionate, you know, and it might work. But that's the type casting its secret spell. It's like going to McDonald's instead of thinking about food. An excerpt of the film was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. or two, and if possible we will use one size. 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. It asks easy answers and delivers easy homilies, much like its subject matter safe and accepted and common. point where we accepted that it's just there. Like Helvetica itself, Hustwit's film debut is sleek, clean, and mechanical. Type is saying things to us all the time. If you say to yourself, "80 minutes about a typeface?" Throughout the film, various montages of Helvetica appearing in urban scenes and pop culture intersperse the interviews. Awards And you, So this is what l'm talking about, this is Life, One ad after another in here, that just kind, of shows every single visual bad habit that. 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. We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly. 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. You are always child of your time, and you, and graphic design, if we still want to call it, And the classic case of this is the social, you care about the clothing you're wearing, or how you decorate your apartment-all of, Well, now it's happening in the sphere of, and there's no reason as the tools become. If you are an aspiring designer and have not yet watched Helvetica, it is time you do so. Others associate Helvetica with the growth of mass production and lack of personality. to clear away all this horrible, kind of like, lt must have been just fantastic. The widespread use of the Helvetica Typoface is so noticeable that it takes an important place in design history. 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. Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. 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. A novel idea back then to use two words close together but separated only with color. Massimo Vignelli: You can say, "I love you," in Helvetica. Nonetheless he is a lover of typography itself and thinks that Helvetica has no personality. Michael Bierut: It's The Real Thing. 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. you know, it's just there. 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. 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. We finally arrive at a bank of files containing precise drawings of the letterforms (Helvetica is in binder 24). A film about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture, Helvetica looks at the proliferation of a single typeface. The movie is is definitely directed towards graphic designers, and found it very inspiring to go into the graphic "business". Wherever you look, if you are aware of it or not, you are reading words in Helvetica. Period. As someone who studies ubiquitous socio 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. 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. You know, that's called an army. Later, other interviewers point out criticisms of Helvetica. Helvetica is a 2007 documentary about the font directed by Gary Hustwitt; that goes through the history of the font. Drink Coke, That is a quality they all want to convey. And we expected to walk out of the 2-hour class bored-stiff. It took me six months to get an issue out while juggling school and other stuff. A documentary about a typeface? Must watch for designer, to add a perspective about helvetica. There's nothing ''extramarital'' about that. Other designers dislike Helvetica on the grounds of ideology. This is an 80 minute long movie about a font. If that is your idea of a good time, you'll love this. They have a different point of view from mine. WebHelvetica is a feature-length documentary about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. So it's all set in Dingbats, it is the actual font, you could highlight it, but it really wouldn't be worthwhile, it's not, Just because something's legible, doesn't, and that may require a little more time or. Of course not. Erik Spiekermann: I'm very much a word person, so that's why typography for me is the obvious extension. It's the way they reach us. To work there, to do. Independent Spirit's Truer than Fiction Award, Helvetica watch the design documentary here, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helvetica_(film)&oldid=1142017718, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 02:27. Its use became a hallmark of the International Typographic Style that emerged from the work of Swiss designers in the 1950s and 60s, becoming one of the most popular typefaces of the 20th century. After Helvetica comes Objectified about Industrial Design and then Urbanized about architecture and urban design. their sense that they had something to say. The directors mission in creating this film was to show the world that a typeface doesnt just pop up from your computer programs, that there are interesting people and stories behind them. Design for Equity, Must-Read, Must-Reads, sustainability, Urbanism, 15 Essential Architecture and Design Reads for 2023. oh it's brilliant when it's done well. 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. lt brings style with it; every typeface does. 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. otherwise you wouldn't be able to read it. 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. 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. from books and then copy it or something, l would really say that it's almost in our. Tip #5: Fonzies Favorite Letter. Because it's there, it's on every street corner, so let's eat crap because it's on the corner. As many others have already said a documentary film that appears to be about the font Helvetica (or indeed any font) is hardly something that is screaming out to a wide audience or likely to be screening to packed crowds in the American heartlands. 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. For those of us who take interest in such things, of course! Or you can say it with the Extra Bold if it's really intensive and passionate, you know, and it might work. They instead prefer hand-illustrated typefaces centered around Postmodernism, and rejecting conformity. Well start with the uppercase A, which is actually pretty difficult for the untrained eye. It seems like gravity? going to fit in, you're not going to stand out. You're telling an audience, This is for you, because they use a typeface that they only, You can buy it; l have it; anyone can, it's, lf they'd used Helvetica. Helvetica: Quick Facts. Rick Poynor: Type is saying things to us all the time. beautiful out of something very ordinary. . Helvetica has been touring around the globe, often to sold-out audiences. it's like being asked what you think about. But that's not really what this movie is about. of seemed there was only one trick in town, but it seemed like Helvetica had just been, and associated with so many big, faceless, that it had lost all its capacity even, to my, that this way of designing is imposing on. WebSur des documents fantaisistes tels que des invitations, l'utilisation d'une police de caractres script peut tre spectaculaire, mais sur des livres pour enfants, elle peut donner l'impression de ne pas tre la hauteur, et en cas de texte trop important, elle l want to go a little bit bigger scale now. You've got zany hand lettering everywhere, ''Almost everyone appreciates the best. User Ratings I use several metrics in this. I was just experimenting, really. But it almost seems strongerthe other way. 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. Of Course Not. The film subsequently toured film festivals, special events, and art house cinemas worldwide, playing in over 300 cities in 40 countries. This is an article on the singer Bryan Ferry. You need to do it by photograph, you did all, And now within half an hour you have your. | David Carson: I have no formal training in my field. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. So, we have design, here shown through type fonts as an answer to a need, as the representation of a certain moment in time, or as the icon for certain political/life postures. l don't know. ), Tell Me Something: Documentary Filmmakers. 2 Mar. And that is about it. Typefaces express a mood, 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. Hustvit spoke to numerous designers and typographers to examine why the typeface, developed in 1957 at the Haas Foundry in Switzerland, became so ubiquitous. Other people look at bottles of wine or whatever, or, you know, girls' bottoms. In my case I've never learned all the things I'm not supposed to do. Directed by Gary Hustvit, the film is the first of a trilogy examining elements of contemporary design. Of course that may be a bit of an exaggeration, however it is pretty close to the truth. . A Highly Unusual and Insightful Documentary, Engaging and accessible documentary with good structure and contributors. And you can say it with Helvetica Extra Light if you want to be really fancy. Many designers believe this typeface is used for its modernism, legibility and its clarity. 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. An interview with semiotic professors or cultural historians or even the man on the street wouldn't have hurt, but at least the film doesn't pretend to be something it is not. 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. Helvetica must mean something different to readers, writers, schoolchildren, shopkeepers, scrapbookers, secretaries, sign makers, and other users around the world. The slogan underneath: lt's the Real Thing. They play a very subtle and almost unnoticed and usually uncommented upon role in our daily lives. And it was many years later that someone explained to me that, basically, there was this group that spent a lot of time trying to organise things, get some kind of system going, and they saw me going in and throwing that out the window, which I might've done, but it wasn't the starting point, that wasn't the plan. about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. My family and I saw this movie at the Gene Siskel Theatre in downtown Chicago yesterday evening. l know you got exactly what l was saying. 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." Fortunately for us, Gary Hustwit did not stop creating films about design with Helvetica, he went on to create a Design Trilogy. Undoubtedly. The designer has an enormous responsibility. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th Q: David, you werent a newcomer to Helvetica, There was nothing cooler it seemed to me as a teenager than writing for a music mag, so I went out and published my own from scratch, 80 color pages. 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. I found it utterly engaging. The article astonished me, introducing me to words I would never forget: graphic designer, sans serif, Massimo Vignelli. Helvetica is considered to be one of the most popular and widely used typefaces in the world. At that time, I studies typefaces to make sure that my paper looked as good as it could. The fact that a movie about Helvetica could have such wide appeal speaks to this cultural shift. But, interestingly, the film is not asking you to like it, only accept its homogenous nature. We live in a media-saturated environment that exposes us to a daily stream of visual information, and the typography that shapes these visual messages can determine how we respond. tells you the do's and don'ts of street life, because it is available all over and it's, And l think l'm right calling Helvetica the, lt's just something we don't notice usually, but we would miss very much if it wouldn't, l think it's quite amazing that a typeface, By the time l started as a designer, it sort. Erik Spiekermann: I mean, everyone puts their history into their work. Strong and modern serif typefaces were becoming quite popular in Europe and the rest of the world for just that reason. of course, that some people thought that's, people using only three or four typefaces, l think this could be interesting to do for a, Yes, you could probably do it, but for one, and for the second would it really yield an. you can have a film studio for ten grand, you definitely can be a designer with one, similar tools as the people who do this for a, lf all these people have the tools to make, lt's not just opening a template in Corel, lt's not about having the latest version of, lf you don't have the eye, if you don't a. the program's not going to give it to you. 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 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. lf you see that same message in Helvetica, You know it's going to be clean, that you're. And they agreed. I just get a total kick out of it: they are my friends. However, they are anonymous members of a crowdthe public really doesnt have an audible voice here. 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. This film is about the font that is everywhere in modern societies, the font that originated in Sweden in the early 1960's and explains how it has now become something of a default and will thus probably be around forever. spent a lot of time trying to organize things, Which l might have done, but it wasn't the, l never saw proofs so a lot of times there, flat-out mistakes, that people would write, why l did this black type on a black boot, or. so l'm never sort of a classical type guy. I mean you can't imagine anything moving; it is so firm. interesting body of work over a lifetime? Helvetica emerges in that period, in 1 957, where there's felt to be a need for rational. l'm a Gemini, l had my birthday yesterday, So l have this horrible thing, which comes, They're never perfect. 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 process of creating a typeface fascinated the director, so he set forth to illuminate the underappreciated discipline. but with a new set of theories to support it. Knowing how to pitch a film script means having a clear understanding of the core story. And I'm sure our handwriting is miles away from Helvetica or anything that would be considered legible, but we can read it, because there's a rhythm to it, there's a contrast to it. "Helvetica Quotes." Typography is really white. And in fact, maybe they don't exist.". Helveticawas nominated for a 2008 Independent Spirit Award, and was shortlisted for the Design Museum Londons Designs of the Year Award. 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. Fonts are almost like the air we breathe. It not a letter that bent to shape; it's a letter that lives in a powerful matrix of surrounding space. 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. 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. Because all the letters . 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. Typefaces express a mood, an atmosphere. Some designers condemn this development as the death of quality and the rise of mediocrity, while others see it as a potentially revolutionary expansion of design markets and creativity. Helvetica was Hustwits directorial debut and the first of a Show more to return to an earlier way of designing. this has that, it feels kind of Erik Satie; Or this has a kind of belt and suspenders, and one of my favorites is these signs. Through the story of a typeface and its influence you can learn even about yourself and how its involved in your own life. dealing with mother in laws is just horrific. Helvetica is a documentary that interviews many graphic designers involved in the history or modern usage of the Helvetica typeface. 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. lf you take a figure like Massimo Vignelli. the influences in graphic design were like, lt's only after that we really looked at Josef, When we started the office we really said, When it comes to type, we will only use, if. But it's also: a musing on the history of modern graphic design. Erik Spiekermann: I'm obviously a typeomaniac, which is an incurable if not mortal disease. The New York Sun editor Steve Dollar claimed the movie was "more compelling than might be imagined."[2]. I wrote on and off for several years, caught the designer's bug, switched over to industrial design and that led to film and studying what it means to see. The filmmaker treats the differing opinions fairly. At its core Helvetica is a documentary about the creation and widespread use of the typeface of the same name. Framing the interviews are images of Helvetica from the streets of European and American cities. lt's that idea that something's designed to. or aesthetically or culturally or politically. I think typography is similar to that, where a designer choosing typefaces is essentially a casting director. Fonts don't just appear out of Microsoft Word: there are human beings and huge stories behind them."[1]. 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. 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. Helvetica hasn't got *any* of that. WebHelvetica (2007) - full transcript. What are you talking about?" What are you. WebHelvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. And that perfect balance sort of is saying to us - well it's not sort of, it *is* saying to us - "don't worry, any of the problems that you're having, or the problems in the world, or problems getting through the subway, or finding a bathroom all those problem aren't going to spill over, they'll be contained. Helvetica: A Documentary, A History, An Anthropology. You know, there it is, and it just seems to. I use several metrics in this. accessible, transparent, and accountable, Designers, and l think even readers, invest, And it's not just a matter of the weight they. obviously. 13 minute read. Massimo Vignelli: You can say, "I love you," in Helvetica. What we have is a climate now in which the very idea of visual communication and graphic designif we still want to call it thatis accepted by many more people, Poynor says and goes on to show us how users personalize their MySpace pages with their own choices of fonts and graphics. 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. 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 is one of the most common sans-serif typefaces, and it is used in logos for companies from Jeep to Tupperware. 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. | Certain bands l buy. than any other one, and that's Helvetica. lt's a font. The Story of Helvetica Hello??? In addition to showing at AIGA chapter events and schools of art and design, the 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. Do Not Sell or Share my Personal Information. Helvetica is a documentary that interviews many graphic designers involved in the history or modern usage of the Helvetica typeface. What's so important about the empty space? Its cult appeal lies in seeing our profession (and our obsessions) portrayed on screen with such dignity and depth. The focus is on the development of the Helvetica typeface, but the discussion broadens to treat of graphic design in general and what it says about our culture. In addition to showing at AIGA chapter events and schools of art and design, the documentary has played at film festivals including Hot Docs, Full Frame, SXSW, and even the International Istanbul Film Festival. 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. Once it caught on, the typeface began to be used extensively in signage, in package labeling, in poster art, in advertisingin short, everywhere. Eduard Hoffman, as director of the Hass Foundry took on the responsibility of designing new, more versatile typeface which they originally called Neue Haas Grotesque. "fonts." to bring two or three layers into the work. There is a global conspiracy scheming to control the general populace that is run by the most unlikely suspects: graphic designers. However, it got quite repetitive and self-congratulatory so I can't give it a higher rating. work that was as inspiring as their work, And l wanted to make work that looked like, and l'd go to the local art store, l'd go to, album the way l thought it was supposed to, properly and thing would crackle and break, And Zagorski told me to let go of the press, l realized that type had spirit and could, that it was its own palate, a broad palate to, And l decided l would take the title literally, so l decided what l'd do is list every state, And l didn't have any scientific evidence of, so l decided to base it on the last Reagan.