Helvetica video
In today's lecture we watched a film about the font helvetica. I found this film interesting because it taught be how the font began and the impact it had on the world and graphic design community.
It emerged in 1957 after the war when the Swiss design movement began, and the word helvetica even means 'the Swiss type face' in Latin. It is said that Alfred Hoffman and Edward Hoffman created the font and the font now belongs to a company called linotype. It was successful because it can be used for so many things. Most street signs are in helvetica and hundreds of corporations and companies use the font in their branding. It was a breath of fresh air for designers as in the 50's type was zany and in a handwritten style. Helvetica was new and modern and changed the design world for good.
The film also mentioned how not everyone loves helvetica which intrigued me. Some designers want to get away from the font because it is so common and can be perceived as boring. The fonts relationship with corporate brands also holds designers back. Some also consider helvetica as not expressive enough, which is why grunge and handwritten typography is still a popular choice for some.
The film had many well known designer in it such as Wim Crouwell, Gary Hustwick and Michael Berut. It was fascinating hearing all these famous designers talk about the font and teach me about its history.
In my opinion I really like the font helvetica and think it is very practical and especially works well with modern design. But sometimes it can be over used so I think that it is okay to sway towards other desired fonts.
It emerged in 1957 after the war when the Swiss design movement began, and the word helvetica even means 'the Swiss type face' in Latin. It is said that Alfred Hoffman and Edward Hoffman created the font and the font now belongs to a company called linotype. It was successful because it can be used for so many things. Most street signs are in helvetica and hundreds of corporations and companies use the font in their branding. It was a breath of fresh air for designers as in the 50's type was zany and in a handwritten style. Helvetica was new and modern and changed the design world for good.
The film also mentioned how not everyone loves helvetica which intrigued me. Some designers want to get away from the font because it is so common and can be perceived as boring. The fonts relationship with corporate brands also holds designers back. Some also consider helvetica as not expressive enough, which is why grunge and handwritten typography is still a popular choice for some.
The film had many well known designer in it such as Wim Crouwell, Gary Hustwick and Michael Berut. It was fascinating hearing all these famous designers talk about the font and teach me about its history.
In my opinion I really like the font helvetica and think it is very practical and especially works well with modern design. But sometimes it can be over used so I think that it is okay to sway towards other desired fonts.
