Helvetica

Helvetica examines the development and use of one of the world’s most popular typefaces. Directed by Gary Hustwit, the film is the first of a trilogy examining elements of contemporary design. Hustwit spoke to numerous designers and typographers to explore why the typeface, developed in 1957 at the Haas Foundry in Switzerland, became so ubiquitous.

Helvetica is one of the most common sans-serif typefaces and is used in logos for companies ranging from Jeep to Tupperware. It is considered one of the most widely used fonts in the Western world. The process of creating a typeface fascinated the director, so he set out to illuminate this underappreciated discipline. Some of his subjects praise the clarity and versatility of Helvetica, while others bristle at how overused it has become. The filmmaker treats these differing opinions fairly.