The heavy, highly legible, sans serif font that dominates much of our written world is the subject of Helvetica, the documentary. Interviews with legends of type design make the film a must-see for any type aficionado, and accessible for the uninitiate.

Type design is the arcane world that exists within the flashier, fun time Graphic Design. The film begins with older designers talking about their craft; some of whom have been designing type since it was carved in metal, one letter a day. The premise of the film is that by studying the minutiae, one can begin to see the patterns within the larger picture. Helvetica was more than just a font; it embodied the philosophies of the time by straining to be as legible and evenly weighted as possible. It emerged out of the nationalist, post-war European philosophies of order and democracy of which clear communication is a cornerstone.

The font has been so successful, indeed, replicated so many times on every surface that it has become banal. Younger rebellious designers like David Carson (designer of the defunct Raygun magazine) and Paula Scher talked about how much of their work was a reaction against Helvetica and the minimalist ad design of the 60s. At this point I felt that the documentary lost its footing. Yes; album covers, niche magazines and advertisements became more experimental but they never really penetrated dominate forms of communication like signage and mainstream publications. The documentary only touched on screen fonts; which is fast surpassing all forms of written communication. I would have been interested to hear about the relationship between Helvetica and Arial; the screen font based on Helvetica that is always the default on PCs.

Helvetica is modernism expressed; and one of the final frames of the film was a peeling sign of its letters. Modernism has become old, sometimes passé, and sometimes ironically retro like the tongue-in-cheek American Apparel brand.

Personally, I’ve always dreaded working with Helvetica as it is so ubiquitous. I now have a new appreciation for the font and am excited to try using it in design. If I have to remember one line from the movie it’s from Manuel Krebs, “If you are not a good designer; just use Helvetica Bold, in one size. It looks good.”