Right: Experimental Jetset, examples of the rise of Helvetica to iconic status. Promotional material for the movie “Helvetica,” 2007 DVD box set and poster.
character (as with display type), it must always
the current writer} of graphics needing a “sorbet
be familiar enough to be highly recognizable.
course” after the rich disruption of the 1990s.
Only the most experimental of typography would
She saw the growing use of Helvetica as a sign
dare consistently to undermine the reader’s
of that. But instead of it proving a light interlude,
unconscious ability to see through its forms to
Helvetica turned Into a surprising cultural feast.
extract the message. In the 1990s, in the work of
It became a mini-cult. It was not only used by
David Carson and a few others. there had been a
designers to resolve everything from editorial
playful extreme of experimentation that used the
to corporate branding, from subway signage
digital tools to deconstruct this essential aspect
to CD sleeves, and from pnnt to web media, it
of type. But, once seen, once enjoyed in a few
also became something much more-it became
issues of Ray Gun magazine. on an experimental
something to believe in. As early as 2000, the
website or a CO sleeve or two, the rebellion was
satirical website The Onion was sending up the
played out. The protest against conformity did
trend for both popular talk around typography
not in itself offer a credible way forward. That
and the use of this particular face in a story
had to be found. And it was found in a return to
headlined “Helvetica Bold Oblique Sweeps Font.
Modernism, or neo-Modernism.
This faith in Helvetica as a font of extraordinary virtues was crystallized with the production
In particular, there was the remorseless rise of
of a successful book, Helvetica: Homage to a
Helvetica. Around the turn of the millennium, the
Typeface (Lars Moller, 2005). A useful window
American designer Paula Scher spoke lightly (to
into the popularity and trends in typefaces
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