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A whole movie about a typeface?

RICHARD BLACKWELL

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 3:04 AM EDT 19/04/07

Yes, and New York filmmaker Gary Hustwit's documentary Helvetica has plenty to say about the font ...Read the full article

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  1. Will Rowe from Toronto, Canada writes: Microsoft actually did not create Arial, it was created by a company called 'Monotype'
  2. Rob C from Toranna, Canada writes: Very Interesting article. Thanks to the author.

    Some stories are so obscure that no one thinks about them until it is mentioned. I look forward to to watching this film.
  3. m l from Toronto, Canada writes: Actually, the Latin name for Switzerland is Helvetia. The name Helvetica is derived from it.
  4. bruce reid from Toronto, Canada writes: Hopefully, a greater interest in fonts will spell the end of comic-sans.

    THAT font is truly a "horrible abomination". Arial is merely boring.
  5. Phil G from Ottawa, Canada writes: Arial vs. Helvetica... Isn't this like debating who's stronger, Superman or the Hulk? Or maybe it's more like who's daddy is stronger?
  6. Kay Ay from East of To., Canada writes: I love choosing different fonts and Helvetica is one of my favorites.
    I think the decline of beautiful handingwriting (like my mother's and grandmother's) is what draws people into picking their "own" font.
  7. Adebisi TheGamer from Canada writes: Love the font but I can't imagine a more dismal proposition then spending an afternoon watching a documentary about it.
  8. j dee from Toronto, Canada writes: I'm dying to see this film, but HotDocs is sold out!!! I hope it gets a wider release in Toronto sometime. I learned how to kern with Helvetica....
  9. Miguel Sanchez from Joe Batt's Arm, writes: I heard the studio recalled it after test audiences were confused by its original ending. This new version supposedly has a few more bedroom scenes.
  10. Joe Blow from Canada writes: I'm not surprised they made a movie about Helvetica after all its success and recognition from the Fonty Awards - http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28261
  11. Justin Campbell from Ottawa, Canada writes: I must admit, I absolutely hate Arial as well.
  12. stan bink from Tee Dot, Canada writes: I've been forced to use Arial when designing websites because PC's didn't display Helvetica properly. Boy, you can really see the difference, Arial is just plain ugly compared to Helvetica. I'd love to see the movie. It's about time graphic designers got some public recognition. But we were warned in Art school that we are an invisible profession... of visual art.
  13. Alan Wong from Richmond Hill, Canada writes: Hilarious. Good to see nerds getting some quasi-mainstream recognition. Who knows, maybe one day we'll get a documentary titled "C ".
  14. james p from toronto, Canada writes: i liked the part in the movie where the helvetica crashed into the arial over and over again and burned rubber on arial's typeface... at least i think that's what i saw...
  15. Barry Moss from Abbotsford, BC, Canada writes: Actually I'm waiting for the HDL Wars movie: Verilog vs. VHDL. At least there would be some conflict there. (And I think perhaps 0.01% of the G&M's subscriber base would have any idea what I'm talking about).
  16. Terry Skeet from Canada writes: I think speaks to the state of the film industry. There's less risk in non-fictional topics, and with so many people using computers they figured that a whole lot of them know what selecting a font means; hardly the basis for a big hit...but when you look at the trailer it seems to associate a new font with Nazi Germany, or at least modernity, or modern times. So powerful, these fonts.

    So if I select Courier I will turn my late model laptop into a Remington Portable?
  17. Dan H from Sask, Canada writes: SOUNDS LIKE AN INTERESTING MOVIE
  18. Dr. Mephistopheles from Canada writes: We certainly celebrate the mundane. What a waste of space - the history of a font - it is not even a language! Have people really become so trivial and lame? God, well I have to get back to writing my book on the historical contributions of rural Canadians to the invention of particle board mono sealant - now that's a story!
  19. Dave Goulden from Canada writes: particle board mono sealant?! Tell me more!

    Helvetica, you rock!
  20. Broad Vacant from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada writes: In his usual snide, cynical, and derisive manner, Dr Mephistopholes asks "have we really become so trivial and lame?" Yes, it's true, we have. Ever since we invented writing, and began to experiment with different notions of beauty, we've been moving steadily downhill. The Renaissance was a particular low point.

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