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HELVETICA

HELVETICA

Helvetica is one of the most used typefaces in the world. To me, there was no better font to make a documentary about. Prior to watching the film, I had never thought about how often Helvetica is used in my daily life. Some of the most popular brands such as Toyota, Jeep, and American Airlines have mad an everlasting imprint in our minds of their logos by using arguably the most simplistic font available on any given computer. The film “Helvetica” was a very interesting film in my eyes. This typeface is everywhere around me and I had no idea. I thought that the film was very intriguing because it dove down to show the deeper meaning behind the font itself and its many uses. I believe that there were some parts of the film that could have been made more interesting by not dragging on as long but overall, the film “Helvetica” was one of the most interesting, eye-opening documentaries I have ever seen.

Quote #1: “If you want to say something, say nothing” -Massimo Vignelli

During the film, this was one of the quotes that caught my attention. This quote, the first time you read it, seems very foolish and does not make much sense. To understand this quote you need to analyze it further than what is on the surface. Once you go deeper down into the quote, what Vignelli is saying is that sometimes being simplistic tells the story better than if you try to make things too complicated. For example if the company  “Target” had used a font other than that of Helvetica, many people may not have been drawn to their company as they would because they used Helvetica. I believe that this quote applies to many things in the way that sometimes less is more.

Quote #2: “Type is saying things to us all the time. Typefaces express a mood, an atmosphere. They give words a certain coloring.” -Rick Poynor

This quote was also able to catch my eye because it is very true. Everyday, we are mesmerized by the different typefaces that we see everyday without even knowing it. For example, if you are in the mall and you see an ad for a new pair of  Nike sneakers and later that day you are thinking about the swirly font that they used when advertising, that is typefaces effect on you. Typefaces have the ability to create an impression on us and change our mood towards a company and this is what this quote is saying.

Quote #3: “The meaning is in the content of the text and not in the typeface, and that is why we loved Helvetica very much.” -Wim Crouwel

The context of this quote is very meaningful. What Wim is saying is that we stress too much about the typeface that is used and worry not enough about what is being said. If the message within any given graphic or title is meaningful enough it will be memorable; and the typeface does not matter. I think this quote is important because it is all about the message, not the typeface.