Dublin Opinion

A movie about typeface! Are you fucking serious? Apparently he was. We both have the same job, and some of that requires a working knowledge of different sorts of font. ‘Okay’, I said, ‘its one thing selecting the right font for a document that’ll be read by a maximum of 15 people in order to make it easier to read. It’s another thing entirely sitting through a feature length documentary about the people who designed a typeface that apparently is seen by millions of people in shop front names, logos, public signposting and advertising every day. Who cares about the curve in the tail of the a?’.

Apparently a lot of people do.

‘Well, its on in the Sugar Club tonight (28th of June) in Dublin if your interested…’

So I check it out on the Interbobby and it seems to be a very interesting film indeed, at least to me.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the type font Helvetica, which was originally created by Max Miedinger at the Swiss type foundry Haas’sche Schriftgießerei in 1957. To celebrate this fact Gary Hustwit, taking on the director role for the first time after a number of success as producer, put together a film which tells the story not only of Miedinger’s design, but also discusses its impact on graphic design, advertising, and signposting around the world.

Here’s a brief history of the type face (taken from the film’s website):

“Helvetica was developed by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann in 1957 for the Haas Type Foundry in Münchenstein, Switzerland. In the late 1950s, the European design world saw a revival of older sans-serif typefaces such as the German face Akzidenz Grotesk. Haas’ director Hoffmann commissioned Miedinger, a former employee and freelance designer, to draw an updated sans-serif typeface to add to their line. The result was called Neue Haas Grotesk, but its name was later changed to Helvetica, derived from Helvetia, the Latin name for Switzerland, when Haas’ German parent companies Stempel and Linotype began marketing the font internationally in 1961.

Introduced amidst a wave of popularity of Swiss design, and fueled by advertising agencies selling this new design style to their clients, Helvetica quickly appeared in corporate logos, signage for transportation systems, fine art prints, and myriad other uses worldwide. Inclusion of the font in home computer systems such as the Apple Macintosh in 1984 only further cemented its ubiquity.”

One of the most interesting things about Helvetia is that Microsoft developed Arial in 1982 because it didn’t want to have to pay anyone to use Helvetia in its operating system. As its included in all Microsoft Software which is now almost ubiquitous amoung computer users, this cost cutting measure lead to Helvetia losing its poll position as the most widely used typeface in the world.

I Live On Your Visits have a flash game quiz which allows you to try and spot the difference between Arial and Helvetia and ms-studio have a good article comparing Arial, Helvetia and its ancestor font Grotesque with graphic examples of all three, allowing you to see the subtle difference.

For example:

“The “G” in Helvetica has a spur at the bottom of the stem on the right side and the curve at the bottom of the “G” flows into the stem; in Arial and Grotesque the “G” has no spur and the curve at the bottom meets the stem at an angle.

The tail of the “R” in Helvetica flows out from the bowl and curves straight down, ending in a slight curve to the right. In Arial, the tail flows down and to the right from near the center of the horizontal bar and straightens out at an angle to the end. It appears to be a compromise between the Helvetica “R” and the Grotesque “R.” This feature is very unusual for a “grotesque” design, and is more typical of “humanist” sans serifs. It feels out of place here and is one of the more awkward design features of Arial.”

Finally, a word about the director. From the site I learned that Hustwit was producer on the documentaries I Am Trying To Break Your Heart (about the band Wilco); Moog (about synth pioneer Robert Moog); and Drive Well, Sleep Carefully, which is described as a tour film about the band Death Cab for Cutie. So you imagine the soundtrack would be cracking. And so it is. Tracks by bands such as Battles, Caribou, Chicago Underground Quartet, El Ten Eleven, Four Tet and Kim Hiorthøy are included.

“So are you going to the film tonight?” He asks finally. “Nope, sorry, can’t be bothered.”

It’s on in the Sugar Club, 8 Lwr Leeson Street.. It’s followed by Q+A session chaired by Ciaran O’Gaora (Zero-G) with Wim Crouwel, Gary Hustwit, Michael C. Place (Build, UK), Aiden Grennelle (Image Now, Irl) & Alastair Keady (Hexibit / CreativeIreland, Irl) Doors 7pm / Admission €10