I watched the movie Helvetica yesterday on the plane and finished it this morning before we went to breakfast. It was an interesting movie about the font face Helvetica and various designers who either love it or hate it. The movie itself was a little like the font in that it told the story through both the foreground and the white space between the letters (you have to see to movie to understand it).

I never realized the ubiquitousness of the font until they started showing all the brands which use it. On the way to my mother's house today I started looking for samples of Helvetica and found them all over the place.

The movie was particularly interesting because of all the interviews they had with various designers, all of whom felt strongly one way or the other about the typeface. It was also interesting because it traced the arc of design from the 50's until modern day. Early designers who used Helvetica felt they had found the perfect font that was readable but didn't get in the way. Later designers hated the rigid structure imposed by the typeface and rebelled against it. Now designers are finding new and interesting ways to use Helvetica to convey meaning and emotions.