Helvetica Questions - BK

1. Describe Helvetica – what are some core visual characteristics of the font?




- The main core visuals I notice when I looked at Helvetica is the rounded appearance it gives to its letters when comparing to another font. When comparing it to Arial font, you notice letters like capital C and R are much more rounded and curve-like. Lower-case letters like a,r, and t have more of a flow to them, not too fancy to be unprofessional but fancy enough to make the letters seem important and not boring.



2. Provide a brief history of the typeface. What was so different about Helvetica from other typefaces?



- Helvetica was created in 1957 by a man named Max Miedinger along with Eduard Hoffmann. The font was originally called Die Neue Haas Grotesk. It was never planned that the font would become a full range of mechanical typefaces. The font was so appealing at the time because there was nothing else like it, it was unique. In the 60s the font was changed to Helvetica. It was GOING to be changed to Helvetsia, but it was decided it would not be appropriate to name a font after a country.



3. Choose one of the people in the film who supported helvetica, explain his/her argument.



- Wim Crouwel, a Graphic Designer, supported the use of Helvetica. He supported the typeface because he thought it was a big leap from the typeface in the 19th century. He liked it because of the neutralism the font had, he said “The font shouldn’t have a meaning in itself, the meaning is in the content of the text, not the typeface.”



4. Choose one of the people in the film who dislikes helvetica, explain his/her argument.



- Erik Spiekermann is one of the Graphic Designers who was opposed to the Helvetica font. He said that it had no rhythm or contrast. “Each letter looks the same, almost like an army of letters coming at you.” Erik believes that is has become like a famous Brand like American Eagle, and people want to use it JUST because its Helvetica.



5.Having just watched an entire documentary devoted to a single typeface, what is your position on Helvetica? Explain.



- After watching this documentary I feel like I am more aware of different typefaces. I didn’t know there is so many different ways and variations of fonts out there. Fonts like Helvetica don’t really catch or draw my attention, as it is not unique and simply boring, and used too often in the everyday world. Although I don’t normally have a specific taste in certain fonts, so I would not have a problem using this font myself