Text Assignment

Helvetica

        Last week in class we watched Gary Hustwit's Helevetica. I didn't think that a movie solely about a font could be as interesting as it was. Even though I have been surrounded by a broad array of typography my entire life, I never thought too intensely about the process of choosing a particular font style. I know the basics aboot appropriate fonts - don't use comic sans for an essay because it makes it look childish, times new roman for anything school or work related, and other simple things like that. I have had to choose a typhography for a media project before, but I don't usually spend too much time on that.
         I loved how the people in the film were so passionate about type face. The one man who said that well constructed fonts got him excited was my favorite - prior to this I wasn't aware that so much work went into making fonts. Since I have always had hundreds of fonts to choose from on a computer, I guess I took it for granted. It was strange to see the modernist and postmodernist view of typefaces. I don't see why some of the people hated helvetica so much, mainly because it was overused or boring or what not. Helvetica is a classic font, and after viewing this documentary, I had a lot of respect for what it's inspired over the past few decades. I didn't fully realize just how many people and companies use Helvetica - I wonder what it is about this font that makes it universally friendly.