January 19, 2007
Here's a movie about a typeface...
It's called Helvetica, and it sounds interesting...
About the FilmPosted by John Weidner at January 19, 2007 08:27 PM
Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.
Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day....
A movie about a typeface.... sheesh. [rolls eyes, grins ruefully]
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. It's an old joke amongst us fans of railroads that scholarship is inversely proportional to importance. It's not really true: titanic (in several senses, including "Titanic"-- read "The Wreck of the Penn Central" someday) railroads like the Pennsylvania have many books devoted to them, while obscure little narrow-gauge lines in the middle of nowhere are precisely that-- obscure to the point of having been forgotten except for a brief mention in some dusty old tome. But it's the obscure that always seems to get the most attention from the weirdos in any hobby, and railfanning is no exception-- who is going to give a fig about the Mount Gretna (Pa.) Narrow Gauge Railroad except people like me with too much time on their hands? :)
Ditto with this movie about a typeface. I guess it takes all kinds to make a world, John.
Posted by: Hale Adams at January 20, 2007 06:32 AMWell, you see Helvetica every day. It's ubiquitous. So I think this is more about opening our eyes to something we've become too accustomed to to notice...
I myself see nothing the least bit odd about being interested in the Mount Gretna (Pa.) Narrow Gauge Railroad. I've hiked the old roadbeds of various California lines, though I've never gotten into their history...
Posted by: John Weidner at January 20, 2007 08:30 AMActually, this sounds fascinating...anytime you get someone who's an expert in something, talking about their life's work? I definitely dig that...
A movie about fonts! Sounds like my kind of thing. (No, really.) I hope there's no nutty guy drilling holes in his head like in Pi, though. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Posted by: Andrea Harris at January 20, 2007 06:39 PMWork with typefaces on a regular basis, and you start recognizing them everywhere.
It's kind of frightening, actually.
(digs a bit...) Hmm. Palatino, Georgia, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif. I wonder which one this is?
Posted by: B. Durbin at January 23, 2007 08:32 PMI get Palatino, a favorite of mine. Unfortunately it's not a web font...
Posted by: John Weidner at January 23, 2007 09:44 PM
