Helvetica

It may not be a very well known fact to people, but along with several other fetishes, I have a huge one for typography and fonts. Because of this I spent roughly one and a half hours this evening watching a documentary about a font… Specifically about Helvetica. In spite of all that was said back and forth, pro and con of this modernistic font, I have to say I like it. I do not subscribe to the two to three fonts for everything mode, but I still think Helvetica can be put to very good, and beautiful use.

One interesting theme I did pick up in this documentary was that everyone, both yay and nay sayers, kept on pointing out how neutral Helvetica is. And yet, they are all very passionate about using, or not using, it. I tend to think that neutral things do not invoke such a passion in people. But I think that is some of the magic that is Helvetica.

If you have even a fleeting interest in typography and design I highly recommend this film. As an added bonus to us Mac fans, all the machines showed in the movie were Macs! Not by placement, but because everyone used theme as their tool of choice.

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“When using Helvetica you’re never wrong, but also never right.”

- Typophile

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Thobias