Helvetica (2007)
Laid low with a serious head cold, I probably was not in the best state to watch Helvetica, a documentary about the influential typeface that traces its history and current status. It has a dry humor and quiet presentation that I might otherwise have appreciated, as it interviews a variety of type experts and artists, some of the them pro-Helvetica, some anti-, and some taking an interesting postmodern rapprochement to the modernist typeface. Unfortunately, I found it a little slow, and so low key about its intentions that it left me bemused. With a clearer head, I might have liked it more. Even so, it’s made me more aware, both of my feelings for Helvetica (OK for signs, but not for text–I don’t like the square punctuation) and of its omnipresence (Guess what typeface you’re reading, now?) I’m all the more appreciative of alternatives.
December 6th, 2008 at 9:16 am
I felt like I should have liked it more than I did. Oh well.