Helvetica

Before I even began to construct this post; in fact before I even came onto this site to post anything at all, I could already feel a sense of 'oh here we go again'. The mere title, Helvetica... A cliche. It's over-used, it's everywhere. Every street corner, every corporate brand, every tube station, every PC, every Apple Mac. Even my irrelevant pot of drawing pins, paper clips and rubber bands on my desk is emblazoned with 'Desk Tidy' in Helvetica. But never mind. I'm awake, I'm online and I feel compelled to express my feelings having just not only pulled off my first all-nighter since starting university, but also more relevantly watching the film 'Helvetica: A Documentary Film by Gary Hustwit'.

As penned on the website www.helveticafilm.com (and not to forget the blog of David Gasi):

"Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which recently celebrated its 50th birthday) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives."


In the wake of having watched such a movie I have to say I feel slightly enlightened; I won't lie. To me, it was more than beneficial to have received a whirlwind history lesson about the last 50 to 60 years of typography than getting my needy 4 hours of sleep. I feel like a complete geek, but it doesn't matter. That's the way it should be, in my eyes at least. I have to admit, there were some incredible quotes spilling out of the mouths of people such as Erik Spiekermann, Massimo Vignelli, Stefan Sagmeister and so on. I wish I'd had my pen and paper at the ready, but forgive me. It was 4.45am and I wasn't at my most alert that's for sure.

Anyway, I will probably watch it again today at some point; perhaps when the sun is up. All you need to know for now is that it's WELL worth a watch and Liam's DVD hire is now officially open if you wish to have a gander.


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