Response to Helvetica, 2007 directed by Gary Hustwit.
We are surrounded by typefaces, one you see the most of is Helvetica. It is hard to miss and even inescapable. The practicality of the typeface makes it transparent and its ubiquitous is one of the reasons why most people use it.
Helvetica (2007) directed by Gary Hustwit explored the pervasiveness of the typeface and how it affected our daily life communicated through design and advertising. The film celebrated 50 years of Helvetica, reflecting on the art and culture transition it had gone through. In this writing I hope to draw possible connections that could influence my current inquiries based on human behaviours towards desires, incompleteness and future scenarios.
Graphic Design is the communication framework through which these messages about what the world is now, and what we should aspire to. It’s the way they reach us. The designer has an enormous responsibility. Those are the people, you know, putting their wires into our heads. (1)
Rick Poynor, Helvetica
Designed by Max Miedinger alongside Eduard Hoffmann, Helvetica (also known as Neue Haas Grotesk) was introduced in 1957 during The Cold War. With modernity on the rise, there was a desire for a legible typeface that could be utilised for any purpose. It gained popularity in the early 1960s for its simplistic and neutral forms and characteristics.
In the documentary, graphic designer Michael Bierut explained why Helvetica had a huge influence in advertising and corporate branding during the ’60s. He expressed that the 1950s generated bad visual habits and typography and Helvetica was a cleanse to the horrible burden of history. He demonstrated this by comparing Coca-Cola adverts, one using Helvetica and one with cursive writing. I thought the advert using Helvetica was visually impactful and suggestive, “Drink Coke. Period.”. The language and composition of the glass of coke with bold font underneath insisted you drink Coke. It was a good example of combined text and imagery that drew viewers in.
Agencies started to rebrand themselves with Helvetica. The shift from old to modern gave a sense of satisfaction and was a refreshment in advertsing.
“That must have felt like you had crawled through a desert with your mouth caked with filthy dust, and then someone offers you a clear, refreshing distilled icy glass of water… it must have just been fantastic.” (1) Michael Bierut, Helvetica.
An occurring theme I found throughout the film was Helvetica’s impact on society and the world. It was synonymous to globalisation as people started to use it. They embraced the timeless typeface that showed qualities of authority, accessibility and efficiency. Its neutrality bought many associations to it and attracted people. However, there were some who opposed to this and thought that it was overused, lacked personality and creativity. As Designer Stefan Sagmeister mentioned “Boring” (1). As time progresses the typeface became dull and people lost interest. They wanted change, it is human nature to seek something new. But in some cases it is hard to escape what is plastered everywhere across the world.
Figure 1. Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Graçons Logo, 1973.
Typography has personality, they communicate an idea or an emotion. Helvetica demonstrated subliminal feelings of clean, good and inviting. I found global interaction of type interesting as corporate brands and governments used Helvetica to convey a language that others could understand. I beleive that experimentation with minimal typefaces could spark interesting visual outcomes that could be integrated into my work. For example, Comme des Graçons’ logo (Figure 1.) used Helvetica and explored compositional layouts and colour. It formed exciting imagery and was readable due to the neutrality of the type. I would take into consideration the balance between playfulness and readability. It is more enticing to look at yet gives a sense of desire and attraction.
Bibliography
- Gary, Hustwit. Hevetica. 2007; USA: Spectra Filmworks, 2008. DVD.
Ken Khun 