So I just bought this great documentary on Amazon. Options

[mipadi]

It's called Helvetica, and it's about the history of the typeface Helvetica. I prefer Helvetica Neue myself, which is why I splash it all over my website, but Helvetica is great, too. I know this documentary is amazing as well, because I've already seen it, and it was good enough for me to fork over $20 for my own copy (and even good enough for me to not pirate it, but actually give the creators some money). On the surface, it's an in-depth look at font of great historical importance, but it's much deeper than that. It's about the interplay of typography, graphic design, and art, and moreover it's about subtlety -- how even a slight change to something like a typeface (or something greater than a typeface) can make all the difference in the world.

Has anyone else seen this documentary?

[transcendentalis...]

No, but it sounds interesting. I think I'll take a look into it.

[brooklyneast05]

i'd for sure be interested in picking this up. i'm reading Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students by Ellen Lupton. i like type. i'm excited to be taking a typography class this semester. maybe they will show this movie and i won't have to buy it. maybe it will be as amazing as you say and i'll be dying to buy it. type is a whole world of it's own though, it's great.


p.s. you better be careful because Gotham is trying to come after Helvetica


look at it creeping up on us

click to enlarge

you might find this post interesting michael

[mipadi]

Gotham is a scrub compared to Helvetica.

I finally got around to watching this (again) about a week and a half ago, and I found it to be as entertaining as before. It's definitely worth a look. As always, I was impressed by the attention to detail that goes into both the design of typefaces and the selection of fonts.

[brooklyneast05]

we started watching this in my class yesterday, got about half way through. it's really good so far. i can't wait to finish it next week.

[NoSex]

yeah, i've seen it. it's a pretty decent documentary with a cast of colorful characters in interview. &, of course, it's best in its social parallelism -- the idea that helvetica is a symbol of imperialism, consumerism, etc. is very provocative, very interesting.

[superstitious]

Helvetica is on Netflix Watch Instantly right now (for those who have Netflix). I'm definitely watching this and Man on Wire (which is also on Watch Instantly) later this evening.

[NoSex]

Helvetica is on Netflix Watch Instantly right now (for those who have Netflix). I'm definitely watching this and Man on Wire (which is also on Watch Instantly) later this evening.

MAN ON WIRE IS THE BOMB!

[*makeup-teddy*]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHH MY GOSH, i cant believe i waited a few days to open this thread!!

my teacher in graphic design last year made me watch this.
i LOVE it actually. nerdy i think, for liking a documentary,but it was AMAZING.

even if you dont like documentaries, i recommend this! I actually might buy it if i can... >.>
<.<

ANYWAY, it really made me pay attention to fonts and every way advertisement is put in front of us, and why it is that way. Its actually what made me want to take a step further into graphic design.

it also made me realize how oblivious i was to everything around me -___-
i've changed~

[NoSex]

i LOVE it actually. nerdy i think, for liking a documentary,but it was AMAZING.

liking documentaries isn't nerdy... there isn't anything nerdy about LAND OF SILENCE AND DARKNESS or THE THIN BLUE LINE or SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM or NIGHT AND FOG or SALESMAN or like... any good documentaries.

[*makeup-teddy*]

liking documentaries isn't nerdy... there isn't anything nerdy about LAND OF SILENCE AND DARKNESS or THE THIN BLUE LINE or SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM or NIGHT AND FOG or SALESMAN or like... any good documentaries.

well i havent seen very many documentaries XP
except Supersize Me, annnnnnnnnddd a David Bowie one <33

there are prolly a couple more but i d r

but Helvetica was GRRRRREEEAATT. (y)

[mipadi]

yeah, i've seen it. it's a pretty decent documentary with a cast of colorful characters in interview. &, of course, it's best in its social parallelism -- the idea that helvetica is a symbol of imperialism, consumerism, etc. is very provocative, very interesting.

Yeah, I thought it was a cool tactic how the filmmaker used the ubiquity of Helvetica to comment on society, economics, and politics, esp. in the interviews with the "Helvetica haters". I liked when he talked to the woman who went to design school during the Vietnam War, and developed an aversion to Helvetica because she saw it as a symbol of the corporations that promote and profit off of war (still as true and relevant today as it was in the late 60s/70s).

In the "liner notes" for the DVD, Gary Hustwit writes of his inspiration for the film, "I saw Helvetica everywhere, and watched how people were interacting with it but not really think about it. A city of millions of people just going about their lives, letting a typeface tell them which direction their subway train was headed, where they could park, where the bathroom was, how much to pay for a hot dog." I think this says a lot about how we interact with culture itself today.