Helvetica

March 7, 2007  FILED TO: Art & Design, Web Design

When I began delving into the more creative side of web design, I realised it is important to understand type and the effect it has on design. I absorbed (and continue to do so) as much information as I could on typography. However, the web offers a limited selection of font families for areas of text and while Arial is a nice, clean font I’ve come to loathe it for its lack of alternatives. For many print designers, Helvetica has that same effect – some love it for its clean, classic look, whereas others loathe it for its overuse. In fact, it’s still the most widely used modern Sans Serif font today and this year marks its 50th birthday.

To celebrate this milestone, a film documentary (coincidently called Helvetica) will be released this month at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

According to the film’s website “Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface … as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives.” . I wonder if they will mention Helvetica Café on William Street, Melbourne – the only cafe in Melbourne named after a typeface?

From what I can tell, Helvetica (the film) will premiere in Melbourne at Character 4, in July 2007.

And if you are searching for alternatives to Helvetica, you can find some here.