Yeah, Helvetica is a great documentary film! I suggest anybody interested in design/art/imagery should see it. I didn’t realize just exactly how passionately I felt about typography/fonts until I watched the film and got so zealously into what everyone was saying.

It was great how they started out with the older people in the business and discussed the history (which I love), then got into the polar extreme opinions of the younger people, and ended it with a balanced view.


Mostly, I noticed how everybody (except maybe 2) seemed like genuinely very happy/well adjusted people. I guess typography has a very high contentment rate.


I didn’t realize how ubiquitous Helvetica was ‘till seeing this. Which makes sense ‘cause it’s so versatile, simplistic and universal.

Though, I think I’ll hafta side with the post-modernists on that it was great for the 60’s, but today at times it’s a little too stiff and anonymous and creepily corporate. I think my ideal font (for everyday use) would be Helvetica with a tiny bit more personality, particularly roundier rounds. I believe an everyday font shouldn’t distract from the message, but it also shouldn’t bore the reader. Since about ’95 I’ve used Verdana most the time. It seems to have a bit more personality in the spacing.