this title is in Helvetica

I’m fascinated with the horizontal & vertical terminals in Helvetica. I’ve always thought that was the most interesting thing about it.

I remember the first time I saw the movie Helvetica, I was really opened up to this world I didn’t even know existed before. I started paying more conscious attention to typefaces, and trying to ascertain what they were trying to say with their forms, not with their words.

One of my favorite lines in the movie is from Massimo Vignelli: It is the space between the letters that make the type.

In the film, there are a lot of people who are very adamant that Helvetica is the epitome of typefaces:

It’s neutral, it doesn’t have a meaning in itself. Meaning is in the context of the text.

Helvetica can say everything, whereas a typeface made of candy canes can only say one thing.

With Helvetica you don’t have to worry about feeling like a copycat because someone else used the typeface you used.

There are also a lot of people who don’t like Helvetica:

Stuff using Helvetica is saying, “I will bore the shit out of you.”

Helvetica has become a default. It’s air; it’s just there.

There is a fine line between simple-clean-powerful and simple-clean-boring.

I think the beauty of Helvetica is that it is the source of so many passionate arguments. The fact that people become so adamant about their opinion of it means that it is very important in the history of typography and graphic design. And it really is everywhere, and that is illustrated so well in the film.

I feel like I can trust Helvetica–I go to it when I just can’t figure out what will work, and Helvetica always does. I purposely buy teNeues calendars and planners because they use Helvetica.

I have this book called Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield. I haven’t had time to finish reading the book yet, but there is one part where he talks about this guy who tried to live a day without Helvetica (as in he would not use products with Helvetica on them and not take Helvetica-signed transport and not buy things from Helvetica-branded places). The guy couldn’t do anything. He had to wear an old t-shirt and army fatigues because all the washing instructions in his clothing tags were in Helvetica. He couldn’t eat his usual yogurt because it had a Helvetica label. He couldn’t read the New York Times or take the subway or eat at a particular restaurant or browse the Internet or pay with cash (or use credit cards) or use his TV remote. I think it’s absolutely amazing that something has become so ingrained in our daily lives, and most people don’t even notice.

Typography, to me, is like, the craziest thing. How is it even possible that there are so many ways to print a letter? Both printed type and handwriting are truly interesting insights into humanity, I think.