Type Cast


A great feature-length movie about the Helvetica typeface

I guess I'm rather detail oriented. I more often read poetry than novels. I'm obsessively meticulous when I paint a room. I'm rather sensitive to errors in spelling and grammar (but not enough to reliably avoid making them). As a computer programmer, I'm more interested in algorithms and the design of programming languages than in software architecture. I do more macro photography than landscapes.

Maybe this concern with detail is why I was intrigued by the idea of an 80-minute documentary about a typeface.

Helvetica, directed by Gary Hustwit, is, fortunately, not just about the form and features of the Helvetica fonts. It's about the origins of this ubiquitous typeface, about the graphic-design milieu from which it emerged, and about its use over its 50-year history. It consists largely of interviews with graphic designers and typographers having widely varying opinions about Helvetica. The beautiful photography shows how pervasive the typeface and its variants have become in the publications, logos and signage of our urban environments.

If I had any real talent in graphic design, I'm sure this website would look very different. But I do have an interest in good design, so I really enjoyed this film. I'd recommend it to anyone who cares about visual style.

Posted: Sun - February 10, 2008 at 01:24 PM       by email

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