“Do not Enter”, “No Parking”, “Caution”. Most of the signage nowadays is expressed in the same typeface. One of which is the typeface ‘Helvetica’. As what I knew from the documentary film of ‘Swiss Dots’ entitled “Helvetica”, this typeface originated in Switzerland. It was born in Haas Type Foundry and this foundry, as well as Helvetica, is owned by Linotype.
I
really appreciated the film for it proves that even the smallest thing such as
a typeface also had its origination and this film helped Helvetica narrate its
story. I definitely agree with the author’s opinion. I think the positive part
Helvetica gives to designers is its neutrality. Its neutral uniqueness among other typefaces
gives a smooth and free atmosphere on the text. It can be easily read and
Helvetica doesn’t cover the meaning of the text. The text remains simple and
doesn’t irritate the reader’s eyes and concentration. Behind all of this, I
also think Helvetica’s approach is boring for it looks like plain letters with
no entertaining approach. Helvetica nowadays is overused because of the
satisfaction it gives to designers which is a good thing. But I think the world
must move on. More innovations should be applied on Helvetica in order to fit
in with the modernization of the society.
