Helvetica

After watching the film Helvetica I learned a few new things. Firstly Helvetica was designed in 1957 and was originally called Neue Haas Grotesk which was an improved version of Akzidenz Grotesk. I also learned that Haas and Stemple Type Foundries are where Helvetica was produced and they were owned by Linotype who now owns Helvetica. When designing a type I also learned it is best to begin with a lowercase ‘h’ as it deals with curves, verticals and ascenders. Next move on to the lowercase letter ’o’ as this will deal with curves and counters and will allow you to see how it sits next to a vertical on the letter ‘h’. After this add a ‘p’ to assess descenders, curves and verticals again. Finally begin to make words to see how it will look in context when people read it.

A couple of things surprised me when I watched the film, for example how designers used to work before computers were incorporated into the design world and the amount of extra work they had to put in just to create a couple of layers within a design.  It allowed me to see how helpful the computer is when designing anything, but the main thing I was surprised about is that it was stated that “nothing bigger than Helvetica has came out in the last 50 years”.

Throughout the film one person who made me laugh was Eric Spiekermann. I generally found his personality humorous and enthusiastic. His actions and views made me laugh and in particular I found it funny how he prefers to “look at type than at a girl’s bottom”. 

The film itself had various designers I would like to learn more about. One person I would definitely like to learn more about is Eric Spiekerman, not only because he had a fun personality but because of his love for type. I enjoy working with type and I think his views and designs of type would be interesting to know more about as he described his work as “not perfect, but edgy” which I think sounds interesting.  Michael C Place is another designer I would like to know more about. He described how he likes to get an emotional response from his designs and this is something I hope my designs receive as well. The design company Norm also intrigued me as they like to work within tight design constraints to create simple but beautiful work which again is something I would enjoy doing and would like to do in the future. Wim Crouwel is someone I would like to learn more about. His desire for clarity and legibility within his work and also his clever use of grids and modernist ideas is something which I found extremely interesting and therefore I would like to learn more about his work. Another person who interested me, even though his work isn’t something I would typically do, is Stefan Sagmeister. I like the effort and enthusiasm he puts into his designs and they are interesting due to the hand drawn nature so even though I don’t usually design like this I would like to learn more about him.

The designers in the movie talk about the typeface in different ways depending on their view on it. Type is used to give words a certain mood, colouring and meaning. Type is also described as not the black marks on the page but the white space between the black letters, which make the typeface what it is and in some people’s views Helvetica is a perfect example of this. Massimo Vignelli states that type shouldn’t be expressive and Helvetica is a perfect modern example of this. He also states it’s more about the background and the spaces between the letters than the actual type itself. It is also stated within the film that feeling and emotion can be added to Helvetica simply by changing the spacing between the letters and Erik Spiekermann states that Helvetica is like air, we need it to breath.

I think the film itself will help me when talking about type in the future as I know that it is not just about the letters but the space and shapes they create. I will also be able to explain the emotions the type creates and the feelings I hope my work portrays. I would also like to be as enthusiastic and as funny as Spiekermann as he was excellent to watch and listen to.  

I personal still like Helvetica and would definitely use it within some of my designs. I love the shape of the geometric ends to the letters and also the counter white space within the letter ‘a’. The film has pointed out to me that the type is literally everywhere so I would definitely think about the white space when using it, to correctly create the feeling I was trying to portray within my designs.