Helvetica

It is the greatest typeface ever created. Or it’s an abomination. Or maybe, you know, it’s just a bunch of letterforms and punctuation. The pendulum swings wildly on this subject, and, in this documentary, about the titular font family. I’m guessing that, for most people, a lot of the discussion in these interviews will fly over their heads.  Even for me—someone who has spent about 30 years involved in graphic design of one form or another—the points being made are somewhat on the esoteric side. But what really hits in this film is not the lionization of Helvetica as the universal typeface by many of the designers interviewed, but the expressions of antagonism from others who rebel against the corporate world’s favorite font and all it seemingly stands for. Rejection of the norm is always more interesting, to be sure, and I too in my meager way have often avoided using the face whenever possible—and yet, I must confess that many of the examples of more “expressive” designs shown here strike me as sloppy and obtuse, while the clean look of the now-classic font comes across as generally appealing. Your mileage will massively vary here, depending largely upon your grasp of or interest in the visual arts. If you’re the artsy type, pun intended, give this a look and see if you learn something. If not, then maybe you can skip it. And if you’re ever in doubt, just go with Helvetica and avoid using Futura. You’ll thank me later.