Went to see 'Helvitica' at the Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre (DCA) yesterday. I wasn't overly excited about going to see a movie about a typeface initially but it was actually quite interesting! It was more like a documentary than a movie, it focused on the history and the modern day use of the helvetica font. I never realised how common helvetica actually is, it really is everywhere! Its used casually for signage and labelling and also used frequently for formal businesses. Its casual and inviting but also formal and clear. It was interesting to see how helvetica was initially created - the process of actually designing and producing a typeface. A lot of work goes into exactly how each letter is constructed, the width of every part of each letter, the spaces between them, how they look in relation to every other letter and even how it looks once the letters are arranged into a word - something I had never really considered before as typefaces are, well...just there! The documentary explored how helvetica has become almost an international brand for everything - we use it on signs for expensive shops but also for train station toilets, its quite strange really that it just seems to fit every purpose. A few people interviewed in the documentary spoke about how they don't feel a typeface necessarily has to have specific character in relation to its context to be successful and I agree - why not use a simple font if it is substantial and promotes the idea simply and clearly. One man said something about letters not having to made up of 'candy canes' to look good which I liked. Helvetica does seem to be overused - its become almost default for everything around us, its not particularly exciting anymore but I agree that sometimes simple (almost boring!) is what you need to promote a clear statement. So overall I enjoyed the documentary, much more than I thought I would :)
