Helvetica is an interesting choice for first-time director Gary Hustwit, who previously produced films on Robert Moog, Death Cab for Cutie and Wilco.
You can’t help but leave the theater after a screening only to deconstruct every bit of signage you encounter, which you’ll immediately notice is thoroughly dominated by the smooth, unambiguous font called Helvetica. Hustwit gathers an impressive cast of designers and graphic artists to discuss its surprising influence on popular culture. One refers to it as a “global monster;” others are more forgiving, pointing out its good qualities: transparent, rational and almost human. It could even emit a persistent subliminal message not to worry, according to one.
You may or may not be able to accept the idea that a font can control your thoughts. But most will agree, Hustwit has done a masterful job tracing the font’s birth in the high-modernist movement of 1950s Switzerland, up to the present, where it’s suggested that our modern design obsession could lead to big changes for a font that is described by one pundit as responsible for everything bad, including the war in Iraq.
