I finally managed to watch Helvetica today, over a year after its release. Being a designer who has a certain appreciation for typography, I should've seen it earlier. To put it simply, this film is a visual history lesson, showcasing where and how the it originated, and a plethora of designers who love and despise Helvetica.
I didn't quite know what to make of this film until it ended. At some points, you were lead to love the typeface, while other moments you were lead to put the boredom of Helvetica aside and experiment with other glorious expressive typefaces. Personally, I have often found myself using Helvetica throughout my designs simply because it looked very good, but I also most certainly use various other fonts as well.
One thing that this film will reveal to you is how often Helvetica is used everywhere and for everything. There are countless companies out there using some variation of the font as their logo, and signage systems that use it like no tomorrow. Funny thing is, you may have not even realized it.
There are excellent arguments from both the lovers and the haters of this font, so you will definitely have a lot to think about when you begin working on your next project. One problem with this film, is that it's not so exciting. After all, there are no explosions or amazing twists in the story line, so the average person may find it boring. There were times when I had to pause for a few minutes and continue afterwards to give my mind a stretch. Don't expect this to make you a better designer, haha.
Score: 6 out of 10
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