Robyn Katheleen : Visual Literacy-Helvetica Movie Reflection

Watching the movie Helvetica was a very eye-opening and informative process. Before watching this video I had never really thought about the different fonts that were available for me to use. I just drop down the font menu and pick one I think will work best. I know I like using Times New Roman when I am writing a paper, but if I were to design anything, I have never put much thought into which fonts to use.

I feel as though now I am more aware about typography, and the work and time that will go into designing a font. But I still have no idea how to choose a text to match the message I want to portray.

I have never realized the typeface was important in helping convey a certain feeling or send a certain message, but it definitely makes sense. Typography can have its own personality, its own pallet. As with most things, there is a time and place for different structures and formulas with typeface. For example, there is a prescribed way to make a business card but when making an album cover you will follow a whole different set of rules. One line that really stood out to me during this movie was, just because it is legible, does not me it can communicate what you want it to. I also learned spacing is just as important as design of the typeface is. A person must have an eye for design, just because they are using a fancy design program doesn't mean the design is going to look great. I do not have the eye for design, but I am definitely interested in learning more about how to improve my designs by using better text.

Helvetica is used for a lot of things, and was often called the default font for a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons. The more people see Helvetica, the more predictable and dull it becomes when people use it. Although Helvetica is used all the time, this is not necessarily a good thing. Some designers do not like Helvetica, while others think it is unique and can speak to different people in different ways. Although, some designers think when Helvetica is used heavily on one page, it as if it is saying, "Don't read me-I am going to be boring". Although many people have tried to make improvements to Helvetica, it never seems to be a better typeface. Helvetica just has an inherent rightness that makes it a favorable typeface to use.

Although I do not know much about typeface, I have learned that you do not want to overwhelm people with a million different typefaces on the same document. Although you should only use a limited amount of typefaces on one document, you should not limit yourself to those fonts time you create a something.

After watching this video, I started to become more aware of the fonts around me. I walked around my office building, and in no time I saw it over and over again.

Here are some of the times I found it: