Helvetica, a Documentary about the influence of a Typeface
Wherever you look, if you are aware of it or not, you are reading words in Helvetica. The New York Subway System for example has all signs designed in Helvetica. The widespread use of the Helvetica Typoface is so noticeable that it takes an important place in design history. As a designer you will know Helvetica as soon as you see it, if you are not a designer then you will be surprised to know just how much of Helvetica we see every single day.
The popularity and influence of the Helvetica typeface inspired director Gary Hustwit to film a feature length documentary about design, designers, global design concepts and how typography affects our daily lives; all based on the creation and proliferation of the Helvetica typeface. He aptly named the film “HELVETICA”.
In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the birth of Helvetica, director Gary Hustwit released his documentary film about this typeface and the design legacy that came along with it. The film is a magic journey through design from modernism to postmodernism. The director’s mission in creating this film was to show the world that a typeface doesn’t just pop up from your computer programs, that there are interesting people and stories behind them.
The Story of Helvetica
Helvetica was designed in Switzertland by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffman at a time after the war in 1957 when people needed a sense of order. Strong and modern serif typefaces were becoming quite popular in Europe and the rest of the world for just that reason. Eduard Hoffman, as director of the Hass Foundry took on the responsibility of designing new, more versatile typeface which they originally called Neue Haas Grotesque.
Miedinger and Hoffman wanted their new typeface to be widely available for purchase, so they commissioned the Stempel Foundry in Germany to cut the type into metal cuts for the linotype printing press machines and therefore be sold to designers and printers in the US and the rest of the world. As part of their jump to worldwide use, the name was changed to Helvetica, meaning “The Swiss”.
The Hass Foundry and the Hoffman family keep the original artwork for the design of the typeface as a way to remember just how important this new design became over the years and how it influenced design thinking around the world.
Why is the Helvetica film important?
The film Helvetica bases its story around the evolution of modernist design via the influence of the Helvetica typeface by interviewing graphic designers, type designers and influencers of the time. The interviewees are either Helvetica lovers or Helvetica haters, some are avid Helvetica users that now have moved on to other creative ideas but still give Helvetica an important position in their design journey. Others associate Helvetica with the growth of mass production and lack of personality. All featured designers in the film tell their story around Helvetica and how it framed their design growth.
Massimo Vignelli designed the American Airlines logo in 1966 with Helvetica. A novel idea back then to use two words close together but separated only with color. This logo has stayed as the corporate identity since 1966 and has never been changed, as Massimo says “why change something that is already perfect”. Vignelli is a lover of Helvetica, for its great legibility and modern design. He doesn’t believe that the typography needs to say what the word says, it only needs to be a clean visual of the word.
Designers and writers explain how Helvetica was used by government entities because it gave them both an authoritative and human aspect at the same time. It is wonderful also that Helvetica can also be free and fun. Compare the logos of American Airlines and American Apparel. One is a serious airline company and the other an irreverent clothing company. Both logos work and both logos are timeless.
Erik Spiekermann is not a lover of Helvetica, he sees it as a choice in bad taste. Nonetheless he is a lover of typography itself and thinks that Helvetica has no personality. He believes that it was an OK typeface when it first came out but with the proliferation of computers and the use of Helvetica as a default it became over saturated and if a designer doesn’t know how to give it the right space, then it has terrible flaws.
Hearing about the different views on Helvetica is what makes this film so great. Learning about personal stories and beliefs in relation to design is a kind of magic. Designers and non-designers will learn quite a lot from this film.
Where and how to watch the Helvetica documentary
If you are an aspiring designer and have not yet watched Helvetica, it is time you do so. You can watch it here, via Documentary Lovers. Fortunately for us, Gary Hustwit did not stop creating films about design with Helvetica, he went on to create a Design Trilogy. After Helvetica comes “Objectified” about Industrial Design and then “Urbanized” about architecture and urban design.
Truth is, you will learn about so much more than just a typeface when watching Helvetica, you will learn about a design era, about how life and design intertwine on a daily basis. Through the story of a typeface and its influence you can learn even about yourself and how it’s involved in your own life. Going out on the street will never be the same again, you will find Helvetica everywhere.
