Helvetica

In a million years it would never have occurred to me to do a documentary on a font type.  Yet after a week of looking at the evolution of art in society and the many forms its taken over history it doesn’t surprise me at all that text has followed a similar linear pattern.  The standards upon which we draw our art inspiration can largely be traced back to historical techniques and ideas that formed the foundation of design.  Similarly, Helvetica font has become the almost universal default modern font over the past 50 years.  They reiterate throughout the film that fonts are almost like the air we breathe. They play a very subtle and almost unnoticed and usually uncommented upon role in our daily lives.  Yet the psychological manner in which we receive fonts and the manipulation of them can dictate our emotional and social responses in a way that is really quite fascinating.

The film provides a great deal of insight into the role of the Helvetica font in shaping Western culture. And yet as someone who has worked largely in the visual realm of moving images throughout my career in television, I’ve often taken font for granted over the content being delivered in the media piece, viewing it solely as a means to get out information I couldn’t otherwise communicate visually.  Yet looking back on my projects as an undergraduate I found font to be utilized as both an opening title sequence establishing importance, a transitional element in moving along storylines, and a conclusion piece to leave the viewer with an additional idea or thought to think about.  All of these would not be possible without a plethora of fonts to choose from and an evolution of fonts over time to provide not only foundational works like Helvetica that are timeless and simple and upon which more can be built, but also fonts created from elements and done in characteristic styles of grittiness or boldness or sweetness that exact their own meanings and feelings from viewers.  This film provides great insight into an ever-present aspect of modern life about which most of us are completely oblivious.