Hot Docs 2009

If you were a font, which one would you be? In this age of visual communication, font is critical in conveying messages and identities, but font as a social-cultural index, a measure of politics and design? Who knew? In this thoroughly original and just plain cool examination of typography as social history, graphic designers from around the world weigh in on the significance of Helvetica, the world's most used, best loved, most despised, and definitely most controversial typeface. Created 50 years ago in Switzerland, Helvetica ignited a design revolution. Carrying no meaning, only function and clarity, it embodied the idealism of post-WWII reconstruction and social democracy. But Helvetica's ubiquity, like any cultural standard, was soon politicized. Post-modernists and grunge designers claimed corporate branding co-opted the font's "sans serif, sans rules" ethos, and swore off the opiate design. But as with every artistic movement, the next generation is blessed with equal parts amnesia and retro tendencies, guaranteeing Helvetica's supremacy. Immensely interesting, Helvetica satisfies an ever-growing curiosity about the way design affects how we conceive of and experience the world.