Helvetica

This film discusses typography, graphic design and visual culture, through its focus on the Helvetica typeface. The filmmaker says the ubiquity of Helvetica intrigued him first: “You’ve probably already seen Helvetica several times today. It might have tried to sell you investment services or vacation getaways in the ads in your morning paper. Maybe it gave you the latest headlines on television, or let you know whether to ‘push’ or ‘pull’ to open your office door.”

While investigating this very common typeface, Hustwit encourages thought and dialogue about the printed words that surround us, and about how the details of presentation affect the way we perceive and process those words.