H e l v e t i c a
I think Helvetica is boring, but I also think it’s a great typeface. It’s great for the corporate culture especially because it’s clean. I am a fan of script and decorative fonts, but I do agree with David Carson and believe they can cause visual ciaos if not used properly and appropriately… “meaning is in content of the text, not the font,” as Alfred Hoffman said. My favorite designers from this film were those who more postmodern- David Carson, Michael Place, Paula Scher, etc. They were my favorite because they were more experimental. Carson said communication doesn’t equal legibility, that if important messages are presented in a boring way, the message can get lost- I agree! Paula said that typography has personality, and it does!
I never realized a font could have so much history and controversy surrounding it. I also never realized how much the Helvetica font is used! There are many things about this movie that I agree with- Helvetica appears neutral, accessible, and transparent- clear & straight forward, etc. I can definitely see why government documents, transit signs, tax forms, and company logos all use Helvetica.
There are obviously many opinions to the use (and to some, the overuse) of this font type. Although Helvetica may actually be the “ultimate typeface,” like Michael Place (?) said there is “simple, clean, & powerful,” and there is “simple, clean, & boring.” I think Helvetica is simple, clean, & boring. One of the first things I do before creating a word document is change the font, but that is just personal preference. But, depending on the purpose, I would use Helvetica. Lars Muller described Helvetica as “perfume of the city,” you don’t notice it, but you would miss it. Like I said, I never realized Helvetica, but if street signs, forms, and books were all written in a script or decorative font, I’d miss it!
