HELVETICA

I watched this documentary for the first time in my very first visual communication class as an undergrad student.  It’s interesting to watch it again, almost six years later, after having taken many design courses as well as worked in the field of visual communication. I was blown away by this film the first time that I watched it because I had never thought about design in such a way – the use of the figure/ground relationship to create something aesthetically pleasing, I had always ever created based on what I thought looked good or bad.  Having just watched it years later, I realize that a lot about what the designers were talking about…remembering locations based on the good or bad logo design of a store sign (or its typography)…is what I find myself doing too.  After studying design, it is no longer easy to pass by something such as a sign or restaurant menu and not break down the visual elements, and form and opinion about the design itself.  Do I think that Helvetica is over used? Yes.  But I think that still, more than 50 years after it’s creation, it is a very effective means of getting information across in a clear and concise manner without sacrificing the quality of the actual content.  Is it always the best option for communication? No.  But it is so readable to straight forward that it doesn’t distract from a message that may be more important than the typeface.

What resonated with be from this documentary was the fact that Helvetica is everywhere.  A designer can love it or hate it, but that doesn’t change that fact that it is so widespread and a very effective typeface.  It is neutral, but can also be open to interpretation depending on color, letter spacing, font weight, and placement on a page.  The fact that a very simple sans serif font can do all this is very impressive.  And by changing the font face completely, a word or group of words evoke a completely different emotional reaction.