Helvetica A film by Gar y H ustwit Helvetica i s a documentary produced i n 2007 about the hi story of th e font type Helv etica. It di scusses both the i nflu e nce of the fon t type and how it was developed, and a l so the appl i cation of Hel vetica over t he years. In 2007, Hel veti ca celebrated its 50 th anni versar y and i s widely known for its standa rdized usage and modern, yet amorphous connotations. Because it i ncorpora tes both the hi storical and prac ti cal components of the typef ace, I vi ew thi s fi lm as more of a promoti ona l fi lm. No t only does i t focus on th e m any ways that Helveti ca is u sed and why people choose to u se i t, but i t also talks about why people don’t li ke it, and how i t has changed the world of des i gn. For example, the fi lm talks about how H elvetica was created in 19 57 because there was a demand f or a rati onal typef ace that can be appl i ed to al l sorts of space s. It reso nated with t he l arger, cultu ra l context of the ti me, which was a feeling of i deali sm as corporations and brands began to emerg e. Mi chael Bei rut d escribed Helv etica as “scrap i ng the crud off ”, as “a cl ear, refreshing, stil l, i cy gl ass of water” th at cleared away th e bur den of hi stor y of ten associ ated wi th th e scri pty , h andw ri tt en f ont s an d ex cl am ati o n poi nt s of prev i ous era. Wi th th i s bal an ce between the hi stor i cal an d th e pract i cal , I bel i eve th i s f i l m does more than ju st p romote Helvetica as a font ty pe. I beli eve that there is a very b i g audience for this fi lm. Of course, this fi lm is of in terest to peopl e i n the desi gn f i el d, graphic and oth erwi se, as it g i ves a l ot m ore con tex t i nt o wh y f onts and design has developed the way that it has. On the other hand, I beli eve that thi s film coul d be in tende d for people outside of the design comm unit y, such as those who si m ply want to learn more about advertising or in ternat iona l in flu ence on Am erica n cultu re. At the same tim e, I bel i eve th is i s tar get ed at a speci f i c age group, perh aps thos e born aft er th e 1990s who hav e grown up in an electronic era domi nated by Helveti ca but with out mu ch understanding as of why. The f ilm is n ot onl y a story of one particul a r font ty pe, but also a narrative of hi storica l context a nd references to typography and desi gn . I thi nk thi s fi lm is relevant to our course i n m any ways. Firstl y, it is a lot of expos ure to a lot of dif fere nt revolutionar y and l ead i ng desig ners. It shows thei r thought process and how th ey cam e to be where they a re, whi ch i s som ething very relevant to us as students. Se condly , the f il m talks a lot a bout how ty pography i s used to express an i dea , so m ethi ng that we hav e d iscussed sin ce the fi rst day of class. We are learni ng how to use v i sua l concepts to convey a message and thi s fi lm discusses the i mportance and l ogic behin d usi ng typeface s. Many of the cultura l i mpli ca tio ns of th i s fi l m inclu d e how type aff ects our dail y li ves. For example, they discuss how the message l ooks is goin g to af fect our perception of the m essa ge itself. Beca use of thi s, typefaces are a very bi g i nf luence into how products are m arketed a nd how advertisements are constructed. For Helveti ca in particul ar, the m essa ge i s th at i t’s safe, i t’s in vi ti ng, i t’s going to stand o ut but you’re goin g to f i t in . It tell s us how to thi nk abo ut thi ngs, parti cul arl y th e mess age at h an d.
