Notes on Helvetica (2007)

1. Name of documentary, author/producer, and year: Title: Helvetica (2007) Director and Producer: Gary Hustwit

2. Is it "informational" or "promotional"? support your argument. I think the movie is more on the informational side. Although the film largely involves with designers praising how good the Helvetica is over and over again, and introduces the owner company's perspectives, it still raises enough questions on the debate of the aesthetic battle between baroque traditional typefaces and Helvetica typeface. The debates are also raised between the pros and cons of individuality and universality brought out by typefaces. The film is not overly lopsided to be purely promotional. Instead, there are enough balancing perspectives to make you think about whether the pervasive Helvetica typeface represents clarity or soporific.

3. Who is the primary audience it aimed at? The documentary is targeting audiences who are interested in the graphic design and type design, but still have limited or fledgling knowledge about the field.

4. What is the relevance of it to specific areas/topics of our course? The documentary is highly related to typography and layout design. Typefaces have the ability to bring controls, orders, clarity and also freedom, chaos, characteristics to designs. The usage of typeface can bring out certain messages to the audience. Helvetica, for example, has the neutral property that can give out the feel of egalitarian simplicity and rationality.

5. According to the film, how does type affect our lives? Type is information. The way we organize type influences how we receive and perceive information. Type has the ability to make information accessible or not. Type also contains certain feelings and emotions. Helvetica is widely used in the Government documentation because of it's void of emotion. The neutrality bought out by Helvetica makes people feel the professional and unbiased sense that a governmental organization should have.