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Lowercase A's and Beyond
March 13, 2008
I love random nights when things fall into place and a good time is had by all. I was fortunate enough to have that happen last night when I went to see Helvetica, the movie.
Yes, there is a movie about what most people would consider a dull, pedestrian, typeface that is readily available on most personal computers. But it's about more than just type, it's about how something becomes a part of our everyday visual environment. I think, too, that in an age of commodity where fonts can be found online for free and swiped from file sharing services, that it's important for everyone to realize that typography is a proud trade that often goes unnoticed. Things that you use every day, Verdana, Helvetica, Palatino, Arial, even Zaph Dingbats; these were all labors of love for certain individuals. People were commissioned and paid to create these things to benefit an enormous amount of people. The words you are reading at this very moment are being rendered by your browser into one of the aforementioned fonts. This is happening everywhere, and being viewed by millions of eyes. It's pretty amazing when you stop and think about it.
It's also amazing how many corporate logos, that we are so familiar with, use the same typeface in various weights and treatments. There are several interesting viewpoints in this film from a star-studded (not really) cast of designers such as Paula Scher (loooove Paula!), Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Beirut, David Carson, and many others. Some think type should be expressive, some think it can mean whatever the reader wants it to mean. Each seems valid to me within certain contexts.
This film was inspiring to me for many reasons. It made me proud to be able to call myself a visual designer and be a part of a profession that has the ability to affect people on such a large scale. I have been told this before, that as designers we impact the world, but that just seemed like lip service. I guess I tend to view positive impact on more of a quantifiable scale, e.g., I helped these displaced children in this war-torn African village. Plus, let's face it, not all design is good. There is plenty of bad visual clutter in our everyday lives, and it's easy to feel like part of the problem instead of part of the solution. But, for better or worse, we do have the ability to touch people, whether it's making a subway system easier to navigate, or suggesting that someone use a specific type of toothpaste. It's pretty awesome to do that every day.
In addition, it deepened my already profound appreciation and respect for type. As a tool, as a thing of beauty, and as a way to spawn emotion. There was a specific piece that was shown in the film, I believe it was a bag, that had a large, lower case "a". I created a poster similar to this back in design school; I'll have to dig it up and compare. I recall my teacher informing me that one of the posters actually made a student angry, which blew me away. I was quite surprised that this film had the effect that it did on me. I've always liked Helvetica and preferred the world of sans-serifs. The simplistic, modern sense of design that comes from the Swiss movement of the 50's is definitely an inspiration to me. I've been thinking of incorporating something along those lines into a refresh of this site.
Behold, the poster circa 1998:
I was surprisingly joined by my friends Kerry and John (which shouldn't be a surprise since they have excellent taste) and wrapped up the night having beers with excellent coworkers/friends. Oh, and I also met the guy that art directed OSX 10.0.
The entire day was navigated via bike, which was a blast, and very efficient. Parking is never an issue, and you can drive on the sidewalk if necessary. I can think of nothing that provides that kind of flexibility, freedom, and mobility.
Posted by Aaron on March 13, 2008 02:46 PM| Permalink