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A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

A long, long time ago, I decided to take a graphic arts class in High School, funny thing is, I didn't even know what graphic arts was! It was my freshman year, it was a new school, and I found myself deep in the darkness of the schools basement, standing in front of double doors that opened to a room filled with noisy printing presses. "AHAA! This is what Graphic Arts is, I had know idea!" Throughout life I often get that "I had no idea" moment, and watching the documentary Helvetica, made by Gary Hustwit in 2007, gave me another one. Even with my short time learning about type in that Graphics class many years ago, I had no idea of the amount of time and work that went into creating Typography. Even more so, I learned that the typeface that I've seen just about every single day, everywhere you look, has a name. That name is Helvetica.As the documentary starts, the director pans through the streets of New York City and you quickly realize that Helvetica is everywhere. From company logos to subway signs to the titles of the Broadway shows – its used in so many ways. Erik Spiekermann, a German typographer says it best, "Its air, you know. Its just there. There's no choice. You have to breathe, so you have to use Helvetica." From there the director interviews many other typographers and designers and we learn about the history of this widely used sans-serif typeface. Helvetica was created in 1957 by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffman at the Hass Type Foundry of Switzerland. The aim of the new design was to create a neutral typeface that had great clarity, no intrinsic meaning in its form, and could be used on a wide variety of signage.[1] Hustwit interviews Alfred Hoffman, former director of the Hass Foundry and son of Eduard Hoffman and he talks about the naming of Hevetica: "Helvetia is the Latin name of Switzerland. My father said, that's impossible, you cannot call a typeface after a name of a country. So, he said, why don't we call it Helve-ti-ca. So, in other words, this would be "the Swiss typeface". And they agreed." The documentary continues with interviews of other designers and they each tell an interesting story along with their interpretation of the Hevetica typeface. I admit, I have never heard of any of the designers that were in this film. One that stood out to me was David Carson because I can relate to what he says: "I have no formal training in my field. In my case I've never learned all the things I'm not supposed to do. I just did what made sense to me. I was just... experimenting, really. So when people started getting upset, I didn't really understand why, I said, "What's the big deal? What are you talking about?" And it was many years later that someone explained to me that, basically, there was this group that spent a lot of time trying to organize things, get some kind of system going, and they saw me going in and throwing that out the window, which I might've done, but it wasn't the starting point, that wasn't the plan. Only much later I learned what determines modernism, and this and that..." I went on to find out that David attended SDSU and worked as a teacher at Torrey Pines High School from 1982 to 1987. Here's where it gets even more fun; about the same time that I was sitting in that Graphics Arts class, there was a 100 percent chance that I had a Transworld Skateboarding magazine in my backpack. At the time, I loved this magazine more than anything…I still have the same issues stored away in my parents attic! It turns out that David Carson was the art director of Transworld Skateboarding from 1984 to 1988 – I had looked at his work a thousand times! I am really glad that I watched Helvitca and would say it's a mandatory watch for all design students or any history buff for that matter. I am even happier that I made the David Carson connection. Until today I never had a favorite designer and when I walk by that Quicksilver window art at Surf Ride I'll smile and revel in the fact that I know who created that design.One more note before I say goodbye. When I started to write this in Microsoft word, I just assumed that Helvetica was available as one of the default types. I was surprised to find out that its not and Arial is the closest font. Helvetica could be purchased from linotype and there are 36 different Helvetica typefaces @ $29 a piece. I think I'll be sticking to Arial!

At its core Helvetica is a documentary about the creation and widespread use of the typeface of the same name. If that sounds boring to you, well guess what, it often is.The film, directed by Gary Hustwit, begins with the birth of the typeface. It was created in 1957 by the Swiss with the hope to create a "perfect" sans-serif typeface. As a side note, a serif is apparently the little "feet" type accents that are on letters of certain typefaces, for example Times New Roman is a serif typeface. The film speaks with several type designers, a profession that I was unaware of, including the designer of Helvetica. Once the viewer has been given an adequate background on the typeface itself, the film begins to change. It wanders away from the typeface itself and becomes a documentary about graphic design. Graphic designers express both their love and hatred for the typeface as well as its effects on the larger world of design, becoming more of a film about modernism and post-modernism as it applies to this world.Throughout the film, the director goes out into the world to shoot different signs and postings that utilize Helvetica. At the beginning, this is intriguing, often surprising the viewer with just how often this single typeface is used. However, as the director employs this technique more and more often, to the point where it seems built into the transitions, it becomes annoying. By the end, I felt like I was just being shown the same images in a film that no longer was truly just about the typeface itself.If I were a graphic designer I may have found this film more intriguing and interesting, but sadly, this is not the case. It is shot well and the interviews seem to give a balanced opinion on the use of the typeface, but as a film, it is stretched thin, feeling overlong at its lean 80 minutes.

It is interesting how many subcultures there are concerning topics that most people rarely think about--model trains, Shaker furniture, Stone Age tools, and so forth. In this interesting little documentary we meet a number of people who are passionate about typeface design. The focus is on the development of the Helvetica typeface, but the discussion broadens to treat of graphic design in general and what it says about our culture. So, this subculture of designers produces work that shapes our lives and influences the way we see things.The film shows ample examples of how ubiquitous the Helveltica typeface has become, to the point that we more or less accept it as the default, like it has always been with us. But in truth it was designed in Switzerland in 1957 ("Helvetica" is Latin for "Switzerland"). One thing that impressed me with the interviewees is that they view their profession not just as a commercial venture but as a personal life mission. They can speak eloquently about their craft. Each type character is viewed as a work of art and to them a typeface can be appreciated as others might appreciate a Monet painting. These people can become ecstatic when describing how inter-character spacing can make words things of beauty, or ugly. One guy tells the story of how his wife was trying to describe where a store was and he says, "Oh, you mean the store with that ugly font." The general feeling is that Helvetica is pretty much the end of the line in the evolution of modern, clean, simple, easily- read typefaces. Any further developments along those lines will be nothing more than alterations of Helvetica.Of course there are those who view Helvetica as boring and pedestrian and strictly utilitarian, to be used only by those with no imagination. That view is represented by some of those interviewed. One of the more interesting parts of the film is a discussion of how companies use certain typefaces to express what they stand for. Giorgio Armani or Nieman Marcus are not likely to use Helvetica in their ads, whereas Walmart is. Although touched on briefly, I would like to have seen more examples of typefaces that pre-existed Helvetica, making a stronger case for why Helvetica has come to dominate.Almost everyone will come away from this film with a keener appreciation for typefaces and graphic design and the role they play in our lives. The final credits prove that using various Helvetica font sizes in different colors can have a most pleasing effect.

Helvetica, do you know? Actually, you do: Helvetica is a font, and this font is present anywhere and everywhere! How to make 80 minutes-long documentary on a font? By combining reports from cities around the world and interviews with designers, this film tells the story of the Helvetica, since its Swiss origins, 50 years ago, to its multiple present uses. With a perfect sense of rhythm, the film is served by a splendid image. The interviews are brilliant, with a pinch of humour. Also to note, a special mention goes for the music, especially composed for the film and based on the theme "Helvetica". 95 minutes of bonus provide extra details.In conclusion, simply brilliant!