In watching the documentary, Helvetica, three main things stuck out. The first of these that stuck out was the passion the typographers have about Helvetica. Each and every single typographer that appears in the film shares a passion about typography I didn’t think existed. This is what makes the film compelling. I’m sure when the filmmakers met these typographers, they knew they had stumbled upon a little gem. The sheer fact that they produced a full-length documentary about a font shows the passion and interest of Helvetica. I got a nostalgic feeling when watching this documentary and found myself very appreciative for the typographers. It seems like a lost art, but it is good to know typographers are actively creating new fonts every day.
It was truly eye opening to see the frequency in which Helvetica is used around the world. Helvetica has a massive appeal because of its versatility. If every single use of the font looked the same, it wouldn’t have become the classic font it is now. They use the example of how the font can be cheeky (American Apparel) or extremely official (IRS). If that isn’t versatility, I don’t know what is. Seeing the frequent use and versatility of the font gave me a true appreciation of typography, especially after attempting to create an original, alien font. Knowing the history of the font makes me want to use it more.
The last thing that jumped out to me about Helvetica is the production quality. The filmmakers did a tremendous job making the documentary thoroughly insightful, without sacrificing the entertainment value. Seeing as they made a successfully entertaining documentary about one single typeface points to their skill as filmmakers. Proof of the entertainment value? Here’s a quote from Erik Spiekermann 35 minutes into the film about his love of typefaces:“other people look at bottles of wine or whatever …or you know girls bottoms. I get kicks out of looking a types. It’s a little worrying at times, a bit.” That’s gold. I really enjoyed Helvetica and changed the way I think and think about fonts.
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