Helvetica: The Movie
Posted by derekbender | Filed under Design, Typography
About a week ago I excitedly put this movie on my Netflix queue. Yes I know its about a typeface.Yes its a documentary. And no, it wasn’t boring. It was awesome. Emphasis on awesome. It may sound boring, but for a designer it is far from it. After a few days of sitting by my TV I finally popped it in and was extremely satisfied. A great film. Great. Maybe a little long, but great.
The film is mostly filled with famous designers giving their opinions about the typeface with the history of its inception detailed too. Designers such as Stefan Sagmeister, Paula Scher, Hermann Zapf and David Carson, literal hereos of design gave there opiions on the typeface. And no its not a boring movie about people talking about how awesome Helvetica is. Some designers praised it but an equal number hated and shunned it. They commented on how it represented war, calmness, hate, fluidness, big business and the human form all at the same time. Its the font that can be used in every situation yet should never be used again. The film showcased the polarizing aspects of the iconic font and its effect on the world of design.
If you area designer, pick this film up now. If you are an extreme film geek, pick it up also. But don’t move it to the front of your Netflix queue. 20 is good.
Tags: documentary, film, helvetica, movie, swiss design, typeface, Typography
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