Last night I watched a documentary called “Helvetica”. I learned an important lesson, and that is some designers REALLY care about typefaces. I mean, REALLY care. As in they will only use one for all their projects, ever. And Helvetica is often that one. In the movie they show a variety of places Helvetica is used. I really had no idea how popular it was.
The Gap, Target, American Apparel, Crate and Barrel, Con Edison, all the subway signs in New York, Panasonic, American Airlines, Jeep, Energizer batteries, your federal income tax returns… and that’s just in America.
In 2007, Helvetica turned 50, so happy birthday to Helvetica! You are functional and legible and squat.
I, on the other hand, am not married to any particular typeface. It’s easier for me to list the ones I hate because there are so few of them (Comic Sans, I’m looking right at you…). The other day a client found a font they thought was peppy and appropriate for their presentation, and I saw it at Emigre fonts and bought it. It’s called Filosofia Unicase.
It’s mighty peppy, isn’t it? I like it a great deal. I was unfamiliar with the concept of unicase, meaning all the letters are the same height. It looks charming and tidy at the same time. And all those guys in the Helvetica movie are muffling their screams in pillows at this font.
While at Emigre I saw another font I liked and I bought it too. It’s even peppier then Filosofia Unicase (“You hear that, Helvetica guys?” “AAHHHHH!!!”) I think it’s called Democratica.
Look! It’s got points sticking out of random parts of the letter! And the capital “Y” is so weird! I feel so counter-culture with my wacky fonts! Wheee! I think perhaps I need to get out more.
I have only one thing to say:
Nosfer