Phillip Tularak SI520: Helvetica Notes Helvetica Notes Name of Documentary: Helvetica Author: Gary Hustwit Producer: Gary

Hustwit, Swiss Dots, Veer Year: 2007 Notes: Type is really about the space between the black Its funny that they mention American Airlines hasnt been rebranded over the years as they just underwent a complete rebranding. http://www.psfk.com/2013/01/american-airlines-rebrand.html Type affects our lives because its a form of communication and the whole world is a design problem that we, as designers, have to solve. When designing a type start with lowercase H. It tells if its a serif or san-serif. Next, go with an O, then P. H tells a lot about n and u. Next move them into words because its what you do with type. Designers have a hard time critiquing Helvetica. Neue Haas Grotesk. Designed by two people combining designers together. Made in Switzerland. Marketing director suggested renaming it. Derived from the Latin name of Switzerland. The Swiss Typeface The smoothness of the letters make them feel almost human Helvetica maybe says everything Typography poverty of terms Typomaniac a modern disease Perfect balance of push and pull in its letters The Typeface of Capitalism rejected Typeface of Socialism Dont confuse legibility with communication I think Helvetica is informational over promotional. I never had the sense that the documentary was trying to sell me anything. Furthermore, by the nature of a documentary its supposed to be informational. The documentary goes over the history of the typeface and gives a lot of important context.

Phillip Tularak SI520: Helvetica Notes

I think the primary audience is anyone whos interested in Type. The documentary isnt so technical that its only for designers. However, like any movie or documentary certain audiences will benefit from it more than others. The documentary is relevant to every aspect of our course. Type is EVERYWHERE and our selection of it is a critical design choice. How we convey information to the public is through a combination of color selection and type. A type thats difficult to read or doesnt match the context detracts from the other design aspects. A lot of those interviewed believed Helvetica was a part of nature. Its all around us like air. I especially like the part where one of the interviewers goes through and describes how a font is not caffeinated or extramarital. Type should communicate and be a part of our lives to a lot of those interviewed. Those interviewed also talk about how we like restrictions and I think keeping things simple goes along with creating a nice user experience. I think I would use Helvetica in my future projects as a base to start with. Using Helvetica as a base I could then play with other typefaces and see if theres a visual improvement with the message Im trying to convey.