Helvetica - The Film

Recently, we watched the film “Helvetica” which explored designer’s, from all over the world, views on the widely used typeface ‘Helvetica’. The film itself was very interesting and gave an insight into the way in which we use a typeface so often, yet it can be portrayed in so many different ways.

The film taught me quite a few things that I didn’t know or realise about the use and origins of the ‘Helvetica’ font. Firstly, I learnt that the type was created by the HAAS Type Foundry in Switzerland, which was linked with Stempel that was in turn owned by Linotype in Germany. Today, Linotype owns ‘Helvetica’ and the original designs are kept at their headquarters. The name ‘Helvetica’ came from the Latin word 'Helvetia' which means ‘Switzerland’. Initially it was to be called Helvetia but this was changed as it was agreed that the name shouldn’t be a country.

One main point that I picked up from watching the film was that a type could be most successful when it is clear, readable and straightforward. This point is something that I agree with, but in the film some of the designers use fonts that may not necessarily follow this rule, but still look good when used in certain media’s.

I was quite surprised when one of the Designers, Matthew Carter, explained his process for designing a typeface. He explained how he started with the lowercase letter ‘h’ as and then moved to the letter ‘o’ and then to the letter ‘p’. It became clear why he did this, as these letters could then be us in the design of other similar letters. For example, the ‘h’ could be transformed to create the letters ‘n’ and ‘u’ and the letter ‘p’ could be used for letters ‘q’ and ‘d’.

The film was quite humorous at times, which made it more enjoyable to view. The links between Helvetica being like a McDonalds that people just went to as it was on every corner, made the idea that it was over used seem more powerful. On the other hand another designer described Helvetica Designs as clear icy water, which contrasted with the mucky ‘desert’ designs that used handwritten typefaces and unneeded imagery.

There was a clear link with the designers that created humour to the ones that I would enjoy researching and finding out more about. For example, Erik Spiekermann was very animated and amusing, which made me connect with him and want to know more about his work.  Another designer that inspires me to look into his designs more is Michael C Place as he takes every day objects and creates design without going into the technical side.

The designers that were on the film, talked about the typefaces in a very passionate way and all had very different views. These views were all backed up with valid reason from each designer. Although the technical side was explored, this was in no way the main focus which made the film more enjoyable.

This made me think about the way in which I talk about design and that when designing, a chosen font can be looked at in different ways but the most important thing is that you can back up your choice with a valid argument which details why you have chosen it.

After watching the film, I see how Helvetica is a font that is overused but still remains one of the most clean and clear ones available to date. Therefore I would say that if Helvetica fits the subject, why not use it?

The film has opened my eyes to a new way of looking at design with regards to type as Helvetica was something that I only really discovered when I started university. I will definitely consider the typeface more now that I have an insight into its history and how good it looks when used properly.