Helvetica

[dewline]

I'm watching Helvetica, the typography documentary movie, at the moment.

It's a learning experience. Recommended.

Comments

[thesaucernews.livejournal.com]

I saw it on PBS a few weeks ago... it is very good. When I was getting my degree, I would have fallen right into the modernist typography category.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Modernist as opposed to...?

[opaqueplanet.livejournal.com]

This is even better than my imaginary Spacing magazine!

Relatedly, have you seen this (http://www.veer.com/ideas/etched/)?

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Not yet. I suspect I'll be seeing it via my local library branch's wifi soon enough, though.

[thesaucernews.livejournal.com]

The gaudy style of serifs and blocky type (type that looks mechanically set or hand-drawn, a lot of 50's advertising has this look) and grungy type.

[doki.livejournal.com]

It's been around for a while, but if you haven't seen it, it's amusing: Behind The Typeface: Cooper Black (http://www.veer.com/ideas/btt/)

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Added to the "watching it at the library" list, with thanks.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Have since seen it. Funny. Definitely funny.

Trajan, huh?

Having finally watched it...

[dewline.livejournal.com]

...thanks again!

Didn't I see Cooper Black used on M*A*S*H?

[alexdecampi.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been meaning to see Helvetica for ages and finally managed it a few weeks ago. So wonderfully done, and so well shot.

For the next week my mom and I were going around yelling "HELVETICA!" whenever we saw the font in the wild.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

This was a quiet movie by design, wasn't it?

[opaqueplanet.livejournal.com]

It's everywhere! seriously, what other explanation is there?

[dewline.livejournal.com]

It's been on the cover of Time for the better part of a century too, has it not?

[opaqueplanet.livejournal.com]

Oh no, he's got them too?!

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Has had them on-side for a while, I'd say. And they don't seem to be complaining about the deal, considering their success with the branding.

Re: Having finally watched it...

[doki.livejournal.com]

I think so. It was also used on the "Vote for Pedro" shirts in Napoleon Dynamite.

I had hoped that there would be more "Behind The Typeface", but I guess it wasn't to be.

Re: Having finally watched it...

[dewline.livejournal.com]

A pity, that. Seems like one could get some mileage out of that stuff.