Curb Innovative Blog

Font Flick

You won't grab too many people's attention with a movie about a font, but the feature length independent film, Helvetica, has the potential to open some minds. The film was created to commemorate the Swiss font's 50th birthday in 2007, and has been receiving great reviews from both the designers and film critics alike. Heavily spiced with interviews from eccentric designers either praising or denigrating the font with great convictions, a great industry controversy is brought to light.
Whether you love or hate the font, or don't really care either way, it is undeniable that helvetica is one of the most widely used fonts in the history of type. The entire film is sprinkled with example shots of helvetica's prevalent use throughout all types of media. Even for someone familiar with design and typography, it can be humbling to see so many instances of its use that slipped by unnoticed.
Helvetica goes past the font and why it is loved and hated, and provides an informative look at the history of design as well as philosophical views of how design has impacted human communication, thought, and life in general. The lines of the controversy are clearly drawn, and it's hard not to be entertained by people who get heated about a font. The film provides an interesting look into a world most people don't see, and for those of us who are font dorks already, Helvetica is a pure delight.

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