A documentary called Helvetica

I recently watched a very cool documentary called Helvetica. I would like to recommend strongly that all types of people watch this documentary, but this documentary will definitely be enjoyed the most by people with professions related to design. Also, think about those teenagers looking for cool letters for facebook, making their choices based on random impressions. Definitely something good will come out of taking your time to get to know a little more about how to present yourself online.

Far from being solely about the font Helvetica, this documentary tells of the stories of the world of design by following a series of tidbits of information. These tidbits are presented in various forms, such as interviews with great figures of the design business, examples from works of design ranging from traffic signs to album covers, from extremely clean modernist patterns to messy grunge designs. This got me sincerely thinking about why are most website about spiritual awakening symptoms so crappy. I mean, typography is supposed to go hand in hand with value.

According to Tony Robbins, a good work of art is one that connects to several people in their preferred means of communication. This, in his neurolinguistic programming lingo, classifies all sensory perceptions into three modes: auditory, visual or physical. This is not a matter of either-or, as pretty much anything worthwhile will necessarily touch these three realms. What he proposes, however, is that one should consciously be aware of each of these modes whenever communicating with his viewers, listeners or readers.

In this documentary, the visual part is pretty much taken care of from the start. In other words, regardless of how much you try to screw up a film about design, that just isn't possible. Even so, the photography is beautiful in its richness and perspective. On a personal note, I would have turned into a hater of the typeface Helvetica if it weren't for the amazing compositions shown along the way.

As for the auditory mode, the interviewees were shown to be an invaluable resource. Not only do they bring the human element forth in this very human documentary. They also act as the faces to which we as most of us, human beings who understand little of design, as the facial anchors or portals through which we can interpret the actual impact and meaning of all the movements in design. My personal favorite here.

Now for the physical mode, which is to say, how much the documentary can potentially move those who venture to enter its web of meanings. This one is tricky to review, mostly because there is no guarantee that what moves/touches a particular viewer will reach out to the inner workings of any other. What caught my eye was the pervasive nature of the theme: literally everything is visually communicating through this design language in which we have all been educated since our birth.