Shin Paper

Instead of forcing myself not to write about the most obvious and popular choice of typefaces, I realized I was too conscious of it as an option. I decided to figure out my own opinion on the love/hate relationship of the most avant-garde font: Helvetica. Introduced now 53 years ago by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger, the letters have affected font lovers everywhere and the consensus seems: you either love it or you hate it.

In New York, Helvetica first erupted on the scene in the subways, where it was imperative for fast motion signs to be easily readable. The hooks and curves that caused the eye more work in serif fonts simply were impractical. From there, Standard typeface was used for a while in the subway stations. It was subtle differences in letters such as the J, C, 2, and 3 that caused designers to feel Helvetica was the subways best visual choice. For the next 20 years its popularity quickly rose as typography became a vital partner to visual information. “Fonts are image, and image is modern America.” [Yaffa]

In the busy, bustling large city residents, face pace is inevitable; legibility almost as important as the gaps between the train and platform. In the stressful atmosphere, the newly designed typeface possessed efficiency and was almost soothingly simple. “You are going to get to your destination on time; your plane will not crash; your money is safe in our vault; we will not break the package; the paperwork has been filled in; everything is going to be OK.” [http://www.nikibrown.com/designoblog/2009/01/23/do-you-hate-helvetica/#ixzz0nmheiQ7s]

According to a New York Times article, the new font depicts modern art with its impulse toward innovation, simplicity and abstraction. “Its versatility is showcased in shots of storefronts, street signs, public transportation systems, government forms, advertisements and newspaper vending boxes.” Is it used too often though? Many would argue yes. Massimo Vignelli has said: it is a face that truly tells you how to set it if you will listen. “Some praise it as a conceptual breakthrough; others blast it as a lowest-common-denominator typeface whose use both reflects and perpetuates conformity.”

Many Helvetiva “haters” are developed solely through the overuse and misuse of the actually very smart typeface. It is aesthetically relaxing.

It is aesthetically relaxing. When we read text, our minds should not have to think of anything but the ideas on the page, or sign, or poster, or T-shirt. We shouldn’t waste processing time, and that ultimately is what successful design is about. It is beauty is simplicity – appreciating how the design of each typed letter is actually affecting your perspective of an idea. Some blogs truly had some picky opponents. “I find the wavy character of the descending stroke on the capital “R” and the entire shape of the lowercase “e” to be infuriating in a completely irrational way.” So many graphic designers rage at the monotonous "corporate chic" of this ruling type. Thought even as “vehicle for social conformity through consumerism, shifting product with a great big steam-roller of neutrality.” Is Helvetica really just an annoying trend? As designers, should we disregard the font as overused and cliché?

Personally, I think the font is for the most part very rational, almost too much what you would expect, much like other forms of the most current contemporary art ideas. It seems as though those who appreciate Readymade, Conceptual, and Neo Pop art are most likely Helvetica fans. It is the crisp, simple, easy to interpret visually yet impossible to dissect its meaning. All these characteristics are seen in modernism, and has about as much as a hate club as a fan club.

With Helvetica, however, it is difficult to find a font as lasting. It has made such progress and created such ease, almost unable to be perfected. Could it be the “perfect” font (If perfect meant the same as irreplaceable)? Can one really argue where Helvetica should and should not be used?

One article expressed the anger typeface designers felt when noticing a typographical inaccuracy in the background of a movie set years before the birth of Helvetica. Hollywood features that spend millions on period production design and it is unbelievable that such high educated candidates are hired whom overlook such an important factor (especially if their only job is background DESIGN). Among a probably very small segment of the audience, that is an outrage.

MUJI, AGFA, SAAB, IBM, Oral B, BMW, Staples, Kawasaki and Panasonic are just some companies proudly advocating the typeface. The film Helvetica showed how many were arguing how content should speak for itself rather than the message being driven by and imposed through the design. Helvetica does exactly this with its minimalism. Because of its controversy and misjudgments, designers who choose Helvetica today do so for very different reasons than its more practical reasons in the ‘60s. Is it the same stream of consciousness, however, while choosing it as a paper topic?