Oh, Helvetica.

Helvetica Film Reaction

 In class, we watched the film Helvetica which explores the proliferation of one typeface, Helvetica, since the 1950s to recent times through the eyes of many renowned designers and major urban cities such as New York. It was very interesting seeing how much one typeface has impacted design. I never realized how frequently the Helvetica font is used – it is literally everywhere from the NYC Subway map to street signs and literally around every corner. The designers that were interviewed can be split up into two main groups: Modernists and Post-Modernists. The Modernists were very stern on the use and effectiveness of Helvetica, while the Post-Modernists opposed it in the most passionate ways.

Massimo Vignelli was one of the Modernist interviewees in the film. He was an Italian designer who worked in many areas of design such as furniture design, showroom design, package design, and public signage. His designs were very minimal and used a very narrow range of typefaces. In the film he made a reference of type to music, in which he was trying to explain how perfectly formatted Helvetica was. He said that type isn't about the letter forms but about the negative space surrounding them, just like music isn't about the notes but the spaces between them that actually make the music what it is. Vignelli was an extremely successful designer and went on to found a design firm in New York City which came to be known as one of the largest design firms in the world. Some of his most notable works were the design of the New York City Subway system, the American Airlines logo, Bloomingdale's logo, and even IBM. Below are some examples of his work.



Paula Scher, a grpahic designer from the US was one of the Post-Modernists who were interviewed in the film. She was more concerned about the aesthetic of design rather than structure. You can tell she was much more of a risk-taker and likes to think outside the box, compared with the modernists.
 She enjoyed making text expressive in her work and using movement as a design technique to create a visually interesting piece. Below are some examples of her work.