Tuesday, 27 March 2012

Bibliography



Film:


Hustwit, G (2007) 'Helvetica' plexifilm.

Books:

Lupton, E. (2004) 'Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and Students.'  Princeton Architectural Press

White, A. (2004) 'Thinking in Type: The Practical Philosophy of Typography', Allworth Press; 1st edition

Garfield, S. (2011) 'Just My Type: A Book About Fonts', Profile Books.

Speikermann, E. (2003) 'Stop Stealing Sheep and Find Out How Type Works', Adobe Press; 2 edition.

Muller, L. (2007) 'Helvetica Forever: Story of a Typeface' Lars Muller Publishers.

Muller, L. (2002) 'Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface', Lars Muller Publishers.

Harkins, M. (2011) 'Basics Typography 02: Using Type', AVA Publishing.

Squire, V. (2006) ' Getting it right with type', Lauren King Publishing.


Essay:

Hoff, B. (2009) 'What makes a quality font' http://www.thedesigncubicle.com/2009/02/what-makes-a-quality-font/

Interview:

Hemley, D. (2011) 'Interview with designer and typographer, Erik Spiekermann', http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/07/interview-with-designer-and-typographer-erik-spiekermann/


Site:

eventbrite (2011) 'What makes a good typeface?', http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1604987561

Video interview:

gestalten (2011) 'Putting Back the Face into Typeface', http://www.gestalten.tv/motion/erik-spiekermann

Zhukov, M (2012) 'Type directors club', vimeo.com/35382795


Monday, 26 March 2012

essay - redraft. final version.

This is the revisited version of my essay.


Is helvetica the perfect typeface.



Helvetica is often described as the tasteless white rice among typefaces: satisfies easily, cheap and fast. But the good thing is, you can take the design into different directions with the sauce and side dishes (the typefaces you pair with Helvetica).” - Indra Kupferschmi. (combining type with helvetica, Indra Kupferschmid, 2010, http://www.fontshop.com/blog/newsletters/april10c/indexEMAIL.html) Whether you hate it or not within design Helvetica seems to be the marmite of the typefaces, it is either completely adored by a designer and used within almost every aspect of their design work or absolutely despised by a person and seen as the obvious, cliché, default answer to a problem, the easy way out. Since the birth of helvetica 50 years ago the typeface has managed to completely clean up design, being a big factor in the rise of the modernist 'swiss style' of design which is still used heavily today, revolutionising the the way typography has been used for the past 50 years. In this essay I am going to be looking at how this typeface has helped change graphic design over the past 50 years and what makes this typeface so revolutionary comparing it to theories by typographers of what makes a successful typeface.

Originally named 'Die Neue Hass Grotesk' helvetica was created in switzerland in the 1950's; not knowing how much of an impact this typeface would have on graphic design the aim of the design was purely to challenge other sans serif typefaces out there having no meaning, only function and clarity. The main competition being 'Akzidenz Grotesk', a tremendous German san serif typeface designed by the German company H. Berthold AG in 1896, which became the first ever widely used san serif font, the typeface was; “so popular that graphic artists were actually forcing it on the printing press” (helvetica forever, lars muller publishers, 2007, p. 22), which shows that even without the aid of modern technologies, being able to download a typeface with the click of your mouse a typeface could still be in very high demand and this demand is what Helvetica sought to capture. The idea behind helvetica was to design a modernised version of Akzidenz Grotesk being heavily influenced by this font just with the ideology of having a modern twist which would serve of a purpose of completely modernising graphic design from their onwards. Massisimo Vignelli describes helvetica as; “A typeface that was generated by a desire for having better legibility, it is a modern type, it's a very clear type, it's good for everything.'' (Helvetica, Gary Hustwit, 2007, plexifilm) and Rick Poynor say's, “it's underpinned by this great feeling shared by many designers of idealism.” (Helvetica, Gary Hustwit, 2007, plexifilm) Which shows that even 50 years on helvetica still shares the same aim of being “the ultimate typeface” with perfect legibility and wide range of uses along with bringing with it the idealism of post-WWII reconstruction and a massive clean up of graphic design.
The idea to create a new san serif typeface came from Eduard Hoffman of 'Haas Type foundry' who sought after Max Miedinger to help bring the idea to life by doing the manual construction of the type, Max Miedinger was a salesman and freelance graphic artist who worked at the 'haas typefoundry', and for Hoffman seemed like the perfect man for the job. The direction of the typeface was simplicity, aiming to create a perfectly legibly font using Akzidenz Grotesk as reference. Work began on Helvetica in 1956, or as it was originally named 'Die Neue Hass Grotesk' and in 1957 the typeface was completed. In 1960 the typeface's name was change to helvetica by haas' German parent company 'Stemple', to make the typeface more marketable internationally. Helvetica meaning 'the swiss' in latin, their fore underpinning the typeface as THE Swiss typeface in latin.

How type works; Eric Speikermann is a german typographer and designer well known for the massive impact he has had on typography, he has created timeless, influential and, Meta-physical work over the past three decades. Although he has managed to produce hundreds of successful, popular typefaces he is very abstract in his approach of answering what makes a good typeface. In an interview for 'gestaltenTV' He claims that 'good type is all about rhythm and space, it's not about form so much, it's about the rhythm and the contrast of the word itself,' comparing typography to music, saying that a good typeface has to flow effortless from letter to letter, he later goes on to say, 'it's the silence in-between the black that gives you the rhythm, the pauses in music are just like the contrast between the white and the black in typography, the white (inside parts to the letter) are what you actually design and are what gives you the rhythm. (gestaltenTV, 2011, http://www.gestalten.tv/motion/erik-spiekermann). By setting this as some kind of ground mark for what makes a typeface successful Helvetica would definitely fit within the criteria. Each letterform within helvetica carries the same characteristics as another, the typeface has been designed around the roundness of each letter, making each letter as rounded and smooth as possible giving the typeface a nice flowing feel, giving it rhythm allowing one letter to flow smoothly onto the next one. Matthew Carter says,
one of the most characteristic and beautiful things about helvetica is these horizontal terminals in the lowercase 'e's, 'c's, 'g's; the whole structure is based on the horizontal slicing off of the terminals' (Helvetica, Gary Hustwit, 2007, plexifilm), Which further backs Helvetica as 'good type' when compared with what Speikerman was saying; the slicing off which helps prolong the rounded feel to the type, rounding off every curve at either horizontal or vertical line, means each curve is curved all the way round, almost to a circle, which give helvetica and overall flow and friendly, soft, rounded feel.
[a c g e]
In an essay by Brian Hoff, called 'What makes Quality font' he outlines what he believes makes a successful and professional typeface. Brian Hoff is a  Brian Hoff is a graphic designer, writer and speaker from Brooklyn. The main point that is raised in this essay is in reference to the consistency of a typeface, he claims that ‘Professional quality’ fonts have consistency between letterforms, which can create great a better sense of unity between characters. The relationship between glyphs help the letters ‘sit’ better together; improving its readability. Also attributes such as x-height, serifs, descenders, etc, should have a consistent relationship and not vary. The letterforms should appear as if they were made to work together rather than as single characters — they should flow.' (what makes quality font, 2009, brian hoffhttp://www.thedesigncubicle.com/2009/02/what-makes-a-quality-font/)
Which again backs up Speikermanns point that good typography has to flow effortlessly, Brian says, 'consistency between letterforms' which with that should bring a flow within the words themselves, giving the letterforms this 'rhythm' from one and other. However it kind of contrasts slightly with what speikermann was saying, Brian Hoff's claim for what makes a quality font hints that attributes such as the x-height, serifs and descenders are the main things to consider when designing a font, these are the things which make the type work, make it flow; however Speikermann claims that the important considerations when creating successful type is looking at the negative space, focusing on the white instead of the black which is what will essentially give you this 'rhythm'.

In the book 'Getting it right with type' Victoria Squire argues that in order to make successful type, 'typography should be invisible in order to allow the content to be communicated' (Getting it right with type, victoria squire, lauren king publishing, 2006). Meaning that successful typography should be read effortlessly in order to be considered 'good', the reader should not have to even notice the typeface when communicating a message the message should just be their clean, clear and easily accessible. Which does back up what Speikermann claims makes successful type, the type has to flow in order to work, it needs to have rhythm, which would join hand in hand with the invisibility of a typeface. In order to be read effortlessly and not necessarily be noticed the reader would have to find themselves within this rhythm with the type, flowing from letter to letter smoothly without having to double check a word or get lost in the spacing of the letters themselves. Good type has to be clean, crisp and legible.

Helvetica seems to work as a typeface because it is so neutral, the smoothness and roundness of the letters doesn’t display any negative or positive connotations their fore it can be used within virtually any design and probably would work very well within it, which is probably the reason the typeface has become so popular and brought along with it a feeling of idealism shared between designers that a change in design was needed. It is an easy answer to any problem because it can play any role, it can be playful is some contexts, serious and corporate in others, whilst still remaining completely neutral in others or as Massimo Vignelli claims; 'Its is a modern typeface, its a very clean type, it's good for everything' (Helvetica, Gary Hustwit, 2007, plexifilm). Helvetica seems to fit the criteria that has been outlined on what makes good type, it is clean cut, can have impact on us whilst still has the flow and smoothness of the letterforms to be seen as invisible.
Its intentions when being designed were merely to be seen 'as a clean, useful alphabet, and something that would portray important information in the clearest fashion' (Just my type, simon garfield, 2011, p.136) and with this clean typeface brought along this whole graphic design clean up leaving us now drowning in helvetica's rain over every other typeface, it is the typeface we see on road signs, documents, restaurant menus, even walking down the high street you will see most shops and brands have opted for using helvetica to clean up the branding of their company leaving them with a crisp modern look whilst still coming across as transparent and accessible. Lars Muller calls it 'the perfume of the city' (Helvetica, Gary Hustwit, 2007, plexifilm) which it very much is, its something we don’t necessarily notice because it is so subtle and suitable for every situation yet if it wasn't around something wouldn’t feel quite right.
Helvetica was even designed in a way which would, according to Speikermann, it fits the set of criteria in which he outlines would make 'good type', it was created with the negative space in mind, in the documentary 'helvetica' by Gary Hustwit, it showed the initial designs of helvetica or as it was known back then Die Neue Hass Grotesk, and the design process behind it, having swiss origins the swiss are well known for paying more attention to the background of the type so the counters and the space between them just hold the letters, and by showing the design process that is exactly how it was created which is backed up with what Mike Parker states. 'It was all about the interrelationship of the negative space, the shapes between and within characters.' he also goes on to further say, 'it's so firm, it's not a letter that's bent to shape, it's a letter that lives in a powerful matrix of surrounding space'. Which shows that with helvetica being designed around the negative space, the shapes and contrasts which this gives should give it rhythm and flow.
However even though Erik Speikermann claims this is the formula for successful type and helvetica is fitting in within this formula he doesn’t agree that Helvetica is the ultimate typeface, he believes type should share characteristics of hand written type and each letter should not just follow the same patten, he states, 'the person that designed it tried to make all the letters look the same, that is called and army that is not people' (Helvetica, Gary Hustwit, 2007, plexifilm), meaning the designer has took the beauty out of designing individual letters and carved them into the same formula, much like when you take a group of people, place them in the army, shave their heads and put them in uniform, which is kind of contradictory because Helvetica does everything what he claimed essential to be a successful typeface. He also isn’t the only person to have a problem with helvetica what helvetica has become, however not because of the design of the typeface but because of what it has become, Mecheal Bierut says; 'Helvetica has been over used so much and associated with so many big faceless things that it has lost all its capacity to look nice.' (Helvetica, Gary Hustwit, 2007, plexifilm), helvetica however has the ability to fit within any purpose, it can be used for anything, their fore the problem shouldn’t be that it is being massively over used it should be finding unique and original ways of using the typeface to keep it fresh and unrecognisable.

Helvetica is the ultimate typeface, it has flow and rhythm, it is clean cut, crisp and modern, can be and has been used within any form of typography. The rounded edges and continuous pattern throughout each letter even leaves it 'invisible' as Leslie Savan backs up, 'Helvetica, with its simple, unadorned forms, the perfect crystal goblet. Even its ubiquity contributes to its neutrality — letters so common they become invisible.' (Helvetica, Gary Hustwit, 2007, plexifilm). It has managed to create this idealism what graphic design should look like since it was born and brought with it an uprising of clean crisp modern design as it has risen to the top.


task 4 - gazeee



according to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have by no means been overcome - men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at’ (Berger 1972, 45, 47).
Discuss this quote with reference to one work of art and one work from the contemporary media.



In this painting by Hans Memling, he has shown a young lady examining herself in the mirror who is not facing direcly back towards the viewer, by doing this he has shown her allowing herself to be gazed upon by the male audience. This is an idealistic view from males for males, art being made by men for men, it shows her being submissive towards men which in reality it doesnt really work like that, it is very manipulative as it sells a particular ideal towards men,. What this does is imply a un-equal power relationship between males and females, as the female gaze traditionally is not as predominant as the male which relates back to the quote ' Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at'.


Moving on to more contemporary media looking at advertisements, is this advert by Nathan jewellers. This advert portrays women in a slightly different yet still negative manor, showing women as gold diggers and sex objects for the men to lust over and spoil. Women seen as purely sex objects is another common theme within advertising, being used as eye candy to either grab the consumers (mainly targeted towards males) attention or give the consumer false belief that by purchasing or using this product it will somehow make these pretty women fall at your knees. This proves that women are mainly only viewed negatively within advertising, always shown as weaker gender. The advert still also portrays men as the wealthy more powerful gender, being wealthy enough to purchase a massive diamond ring for the lady, however this time the advert touches on female submission and shallow motivations as well; how the female will basically do ANYTHING for a diamond ring. This relates to the quote because it is an advertisement made by men for men, posting an idealistic vision that women are their just to be empowered over, they are objectified, a man can easily manipulate a women just by in this example displaying wealth. However this is just the vision within advertising and it not reality.

Task 3 - hyperrealityyy

Write a short analysis (300 words approx) of an aspect of our culture that is in some way Hyperreal. 


Coffee Shop Chains – Costa, Caffe Nero etc.



'Hyperreality is used in semiotics and postmodern philosophy to describe a hypothetical inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced post-modern societies. Hyperreality is a way of characterizing what our consciousness defines as "real" in a world where a multitude of media can radically shape and filter an original event or experience.'

It is possible to argue that various coffee shop chains in countries such as the UK and the USA are a good example of Hyperreality.

Coffee shop chains such as Costa Coffee and Caffe Nero come two a penny in the UK, and their primary commodity is of course coffee; of course however this is not the only thing they are selling to their customers. The shops they set up are based on stereotypical ideas of Italian Coffee houses held by the general British Public, and aim to provide them with an 'authentic' Italian experience. They often go the lengths of advertising their coffee as being, in the case of Caffe Nero, 'the best coffee this side of Milan', which of course instantly creates a hyperreal situation.


Essentially, in terms of being hyperreal; at some stage someone decided it would be a good idea to set up a Coffee Shop in Britain, inspired by those found all over Italy, as an alternative to traditional British tea shops and pubs usually found on our streets. As one coffee shop becomes more successful than the next, it naturally develops to gain more premises in order to attract more customers and increase revenue. Of course, as the chains of coffee shops developed they would have to adapt in such a way to suit the tastes of the British audience, whilst attempting to retain some ideas of the traditional Italian coffee houses. As a result of this, we end up with large companies such a Costa Coffee running premises up and down the country which adopt the same basic model; the interiors are the same, the staff wear the same outfit and they sell the same coffee. However, once it has reached this stage, it is beyond simply a coffee house inspired by those found in Italy, it is something that has developed out of this into what is essentially a British company attempting to promote their idea of an Italian experience, which of course is very detached from the reality of the genuine Italian experience – any trip to Italy will demonstrate that none of their coffee shops look anything like a Costa Coffee, nor does their staff consist of students and other young people acting as 'baristas', and they certainly don't offer takeaway coffee in cardboard cups with a coffee bean logo on the side.

Essentially, when a member of the general British public thinks about an Italian Coffee shop, the majority would naturally think about a Costa Coffee or a Starbucks, despite the fact that these shops have been transformed in such a way to the point where they are a long shot away from the reality of Italian Coffee Houses; and in this sense it is true to say that these coffee shops are an example of Hyperreality.

Task 1 - Panopticism.



Choose an example of one aspect of contemporary culture that is, in your opinion, panoptic. Write an explanation of this, in approximately 200-300 words, employing key Foucauldian language, such as 'Docile Bodies' or 'self-regulation, and using not less than 5 quotes from the text 'Panopticism' in Thomas, J. (2000) 'Reading Images', NY, Palgrave McMillan.


Parallels can also be drawn in modern days society to panoctism, with the thought or scare of constantly being watched forces people to think or act in certain ways. The panopticon was tall circular structure, the concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe, inmates are constantly being watched by figures of authority/made to feel as if they are being watched. The psychological effect of the building is to induce the idea that you are being watched thus you behave in a way as if you are being watched, and by doing so we will be left with, as what Faucalt calls 'a utopia of a perfectly governed city...' (Thomas, 2000, p.79).
Some examples of panopticism being applied in the 21st century culture are;

CCTV; no matter where you go these days there are constant visual reminders that you are being watched or recorded by cctv, forcing a person to act in a way as if they are being watched, following 'normal' social movements and acting how you would act if you was being watched by an authoritative figure. This also relates further to the panoptic theory with most of these said CCTV camera not actually in operation however you are still acting as these Docile bodies and acting in a way which you would be expected because you feel like that is what they would want you to do, even though nobody is actually watching you. In the text 'Panopticism' in Thomas, J. (2000) 'Reading Images' Faucalt states that, "social space is observed at every point... the slightest movement of individuals is supervised and recorded...written documentation links the omnipresent and omniscient hierarchic centre with the quarantined periphery". (Thomas, 2000, p.79). Which is highly linked with CCTV cameras, in the panopticon everything an individual does is watched and recorded and by doing so makes the individual submissive and do as they are suppose to, ' omniscient hierarchic centre with the quarantined periphery', and when applied to 21st the century we all do as we are suppose to in fear of being watched and recorded by cameras.

Open plan offices, because of the fear that your manager or boss could walk past at any minute you constantly act as a docile body, acting in a way that you feel you should be doing, just incase on the off chance your manager see's you. For the workers  ‘visibility is a trap’ (Thomas, 2000, p.80), they are easily seen my an authoritative figure and by Doing this makes the worker more productive and obedient, because they feel they are being watched therefore they do what they should be doing.

Foucault states, 'This surveillance is based on a model of permanent registration.' (Thomas, 2000, p.77), which relates to a an example of panopticism in contemporary culture that effects me daily. The sign up sheet we have up in the graphic design studio everyday. This is a register in which we have to sign our names each day before 9.30 or we would be marked as absent, the register is checked daily by an authoritative figure [FRED] and if you fail to remember to sign in or sign in at all a number of times action would be taken and you will be disciplined. The way this applies to the theory of panopticism is that it is a way of this authoritative figure constantly keeping an eye on you, therefore you act in a way as if you was constantly being watched by this authorative figure, coming in on time and signing in. The sign up sheet works however because without this sheet I probably wouldn’t bother turning up to uni until around at least 12 everyday, however with the sheet we act as docile bodies and self regulate to the correct behaviour that is signing in everyday even if we do not have to be in, because we feel like that is what they want us to do.

essay first draft

No where near finished, felt myself going in the wrong direction from the beginning yet couldn't drag myself out of it. Needs allot of revision.

______________________________________________________



Within design Helvetica seems to be the marmite of the typefaces, it is either completely adored by a designer and used within almost every aspect of their design work or absolutely despised by a person and seen as the obvious, cliché, default answer to a problem, the easy way out. Whether you hate or not since the birth of helvetica 50 years ago the typeface has managed to completely clean up design, being a big factor is the rise of the modernist 'swiss style' of design which is still used heavily today, revolutionising the the way typography has been used for the past 50 years.

Originally named 'Die Neue Hass Grotesk' helvetica was created in switzerland in the 1950's; not knowing how much of an impact this typeface would have on graphic design the aim of the design was purely to challenge other sans serif typefaces out there having no meaning, only function and clarity. The main competition being 'Akzidenz Grotesk', a tremendous German san serif typeface designed by the German company H. Berthold AG in 1896, which became the first ever widely used san serif font, the typeface was; “so popular that graphic artists were actually forcing it on the printing press” (helvetica forever, lars muller publishers, 2007, p. 22), which shows that even without the aid of modern technologies, being able to download a typeface with the click of your mouse a typeface could still be in very high demand and this demand is what Helvetica sought to capture. The idea behind helvetica was to design a modernised version of Akzidenz Grotesk being heavily influenced by this font just with the ideology of having a modern twist which would serve of a purpure of completely modernising graphic design from their onwards. Massisimo Vignelli describes helvetica as; “A typeface that was generated by a desire for having better legibility, it is a modern type, it's a very clear type, it's good for everything.'' (Helvetica, Gary Hustwit, 2007, plexifilm) and Rick Poynor say's, “it's underpinned by this great feeling shared by many designers of idealism.” (Helvetica, Gary Hustwit, 2007, plexifilm) Which shows that even 50 years on helvetica still shares the same aim of being “the ultimate typeface” with perfect legibility and wide range of uses along with bringing with it the idealism of post-WWII reconstruction and a massive clean up of graphic design.
The idea to create a new san serif typeface came from Eduard Hoffman of 'Haas Typefoundry' who sought after Max Miedinger to help bring the idea to life by doing the manual construction of the type, Max Miedinger was a salesman and freelance graphic artist who worked at the 'haas typefoundry', and for Hoffman seemed like the perfect man for the job. The direction of the typeface was simplicity, aiming to create a perfectly legibly font using Akzidenz Grotesk as reference. Work began on Helvetica in 1956, or as it was originally named 'Die Neue Hass Grotesk' and in 1957 the typeface was completed. In 1960 the typeface's name was change to helvetica by Haas' German parent company 'Stemple', to make the typeface more marketable internationally. Helvetica meaning 'the swiss' in latin, their fore underpinning the typeface with the huge title of THE Swiss typeface, to which it has definitely lived up to its name.

Helvetica seems to work as a typeface because it is so neutral, the smoothness and roundness of the letters doesn’t display any negative or positive connotations theirfore it can be used within virtually any design and probably would work very well within it. Each letter carries the same characteristics as another giving the typeface a nice flowing feel along with the boldness given from the almost perfectly rounded letters and the weight which grabs your attention. Matthew Carter says,
one of the most characteristic and beautiful things about helvetica is these horizontal terminals in the lowercase 'e's, 'c's, 'g's; the whole structure is based on the horizontal slicing off of the terminals' (Helvetica, Gary Hustwit, 2007, plexifilm), the slicing of which helps prolong the rounded feel to the type, rounding off every curve at either horizontal or vertical line, means each curve is curved all the way round, almost to a circle, which give helvetica and overall friendly 'rounded' feel. However some designers do not agree on this being such a good thing even though Helvetica has become a massively revolutionary typeface; Erik Speikermann is well known for hating helvetica and what it has become, he believes type should share characteristics of hand written type and each letter should not just follow the same patten, he states, 'the person that designed it tried to make all the letters look the same, that is called and army that is not people' (Helvetica, Gary Hustwit, 2007, plexifilm), meaning the designer has took the beauty out of designing indual letters and carved them into the same formula, much like when you take a group of people, place them in the army, shave their heads and put them in uniform.
and an unobtrusive geometry that almost suggests it was designed not to stand out.
[a c g e]



Post World War II in the 50's a huge modernist movement then came about formerly known as 'swiss design' or the 'international style'. This is a time where a change was needed within design and a real ideology was felt between designers. One of the key people in inspiring this new style of design is Joseph Muller Brockman, he was one of the first designer to apply this de constructivist style within design. In this image you can really see how...
''once we introduced helvetica it really ran away, it was exactly what the designers were looking for, it was just a landslide waiting to go down a mountain and away it went.'' – mike parker

[By looking at the advertising for Coca Cola in the 1960’s, one can see the clear difference. The typography is there, that is all it needs to do, but the bottle and glass of coke have to sweat to make their efforts to adhere to the properties which Helvetica depicts; modern, simple and the most effective word, refreshing. “It’s the real thing. Coke.” The real promotion of the advertisement is coming through the typography, which is making a clear statement as to what the reader really wants. Michael Bierut expressed this idea proficiently when explaining a redesign:
Can you imagine how braising and thrilling that was, that must feel like you were crawling through a desert with your mouth caked with filthy dust and someone’s offering you a clear and refreshing distilled glass of icy water to clear away this horrible burden of history. It must have just been fantastic, and you know it was fantastic because it was done over and over again.]


using helvetica massively throughout it.
around the time that helvetica was released in 1957, the movement being known as 'swiss typography',

''t's The Real Thing. Period. Coke. Period. Any Questions? Of Course Not. ''

Everyone sees Helvetica,

Helvetica is often described as the
tasteless white rice among typefaces: satisfies easily, cheap and fast. But the
good thing is, you can take the design into different directions with the sauce
and side dishes (the typefaces you pair with Helvetica).” - Indra Kupferschmi''

It is arguably the most respectable of the “default” fonts. But it’s also used because
it’s a safe, neutral choice. For many purposes, typography is more about content
than style. Fans of Beatrice Warde will tell you that typographers should
communicate without distraction. Helvetica, with its simple, unadorned forms,
is the perfect crystal goblet. Even its ubiquity contributes to its neutrality —
letters so common they become invisible.

But invisibility isn’t always appropriate, particularly in advertising or branding
where individuality is key

(modernism) (swiss design)

Helvetica analysis

grid system

comparison between old and new design

swiss design image analysis

modern design, branding


helvetica haters

conclusion.

essay proposal - revised.



''Is helvetica the perfect typeface.''

A detailed examination into the background of the typeface helvetica. What it is about this revolutionary typeface which makes it good enough to bring along with its creation and the 50 years it's been around a complete clean up of graphic design and spark this modern minimal swiss design style which is still seen and used widely in contemporary design. Using theories from top typeographers on what makes a 'perfect' typeface and comparing them to helvetica and typegraphers opinions on helvetica.


BIBLIOGRAPHY..

Film:

Hustwit, G (2007) 'Helvetica' plexifilm.

Books:

Lupton, E. (2004) 'Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and Students.'  Princeton Architectural Press

White, A. (2004) 'Thinking in Type: The Practical Philosophy of Typography', Allworth Press; 1st edition

Garfield, S. (2011) 'Just My Type: A Book About Fonts', Profile Books.

Speikermann, E. (2003) 'Stop Stealing Sheep and Find Out How Type Works', Adobe Press; 2 edition.

Muller, L. (2007) 'Helvetica Forever: Story of a Typeface' Lars Muller Publishers.

Muller, L. (2002) 'Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface', Lars Muller Publishers.