Ideas Dispenser

We’ll be upfront that we’re fans of the font Helvetica because of the impact that it has delivered to graphic design, advertising and communications everywhere. The documentary film Helvetica by Gary Hustwit supports the fact that the font’s influence has indeed gone everywhere, but it hasn’t always garnered praise and fans along its rise, fall and subsequent rise up till today. In fact most graphic designers that we’ve known have expressed their adoration for the font, so it’s the detractors’ opinions expressed in the film that really interest us, as they give us a different perspective to understand the font.

We were fortunate enough to loan a copy of the DVD from the public library during our visit to Singapore (and also loaned another of  Gary Hustwit’s documentary Objectified there too) and the film was easily one of the most inspiring things that we’ve seen on the small screen during our stay there. Check it out if you’ve not seen it yet and see if Helvetica’s indeed your type.