Reflections: Helvetica the Film

After viewing the movie Helvetica I was astounded to see how the world today relies on type designers such as Max Miedinger and others. I did my research paper on Max Miedinger so I know a good deal about how Helvetica came to be a staple in the world today, but the movie delved deeper than my research proded and revealed some interesting things to me. I knew that Helvetica was the most famous typeface the world has ever seen, but its applications in wayfinding and signage are astounding. The fact that so many governments rely on Helvetica to transport people, objects, and ideas is beyond the capacity I knew. Helvetica is truly a type that has broken down barriers of state and unified the world with its simplistic and awe-inspiring attributes. Helvetica is the means to spread ideas, and without knowing its scope before creation, Max Miedinger and Edouard Hoffman created something that would long outlive them. Helvetica the movie was interesting and informative enough to also capure my attention for an hour and a half. Seeing the mixed reviews of Helvetica in the gestures of designers of this era was also interesting. Some believe it is a design god send while others scornfully dilute the image of it in a sense of overuse. I found the designers, whether for or against Helvetica, to be fun to watch and explore thiere positions concerning the world around them. Designers seem to be a different breed of people. To reiterate, Helvetica was a great and very informational movie, to me, about the hard work and effects of a typeface created many years ago.