Helvetica

"You can't escape if you try.”

When I read that in the description PBS posted about the clip, I thought I was going to have a very hard time taking this documentary seriously. I mean the idea of a group of people talking passionately, obsessively, about a font is pretty silly. But after watching a few clips on you tube, my interest was piqued to say the least.

Helvetica as a font is very clean, smooth and simplistic. It's perfect for advertising and for government documents. It entices you as a consumer yet when it needs to, helvetica stays completely neutral, impressional, and professional. This idea was reiterated various times throughout the clips.

I felt the many montages of Berlin where very fitting to display Helvetica around us. I dunno, to me the font seems very “European”, IKEA-like (if that means anything): simple and clean, modern.

I had never realized that we see helvetica in some many places and that it is used many things we see on a day to day basis. I certainly had no idea that it also effected so many people. I don't even think I have that typeface on my computer at home....

Well, speaking of it effecting people, I also like enthusiasm of those interviewed. It was very amusing to see that they were just so passionate and excited by something as simple as a typeface.

In all I found the clips I watched to be very interesting and I would like to check out the full version of the dockumentry.