Gary Hustwit: Helvetica
Already out, but there’s a blu-ray and a limited edition version designed by Jetset coming soon and, besides, this beautiful documentary is well worth another review. The big guns of graphic design are on here giving their opinions about the world’s most ubiquitous typeface, Helvetica. Most of them treat the font like an old friend or lover, some, like Leslie Savan, think it the devil’s work and at the very heart of capitalism. David Carson’s recalling of a dull Bryan Ferry interview with the whole text set in Zapf Dingbats deserves a medal for bravery. As visually arresting as it is informative, Helvetica shows us how this seemingly nuetral typeface has permeated throughout society.
