One of the top items on my Christmas list this year was a copy of the documentary film by Gary Hustwit (that's "hus-vit" to you German geeks out there). Who puts a film about a popular typeface (that's "font" to you design geeks out there) together? How much depth of "character" can one assume from such a droll (to some) topic? Why so much hoopla with something so boring, something without "style"?
I. Was. Wrong. Helvetica was definitely a worthwhile documentary about the origin (somewhat scattered), the universality (somewhat "under"-rated), and the power of art.
My question is (as I take a sip out of my 3rd glass of wine), is Helvetica merely the drug of choice? Here's what I'm trying to get at: you're a 3rd year design student asked to apply typography to your modernist 2-D exercise -- you use Helvetica. You're a graphic designer asked to make something "modern, something Bauhaus, something clean, something with that joi de vivre -- you use Helvetica. Why Helvetica and not Century Gothic? Why Helvetica and not the iconic Arial? Why are you scared to use Verdana simply because the word "verdana" sounds too feminine? (It actually sounds like "veranda" but who am I? I'm just a simpleton when it comes to graphic layout). Why? Why? Why?
Because it's just there! It's EVERYWHERE! There's "character" in Helvetica. The O's and the C's aren't completely round. The P's have a fleur finish that still "fits". If you trace the letters over a page of tracing paper, your pen naturally glides -- it's as if the typeface was meant to be a Helvetica.
One of the many explanatory descriptions about Helvetica, which you'll come across in the documentary, is the origin of the name Helvetica. "Helvetsia": meaning Switzerland, what proposed but sounded too political, a little misleading. "Helvetica" is animated -- it's less obsessed with stature. It's not pretentious or kind. It's just what it is because it is.
(Seen: Helvetica | Have you seen it? I'm sure you can and will)
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