Independent Lens . HELVETICA

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The Making Of The Filmmaker Filmmaker Statement Film Credits

A hand holding a metal plate with four letters of type: 'Helv' with rows of other letters in the background
Text reads:'Helvetica. ItÕs everywhere: this typeface spells out tax forms, labels, street signs and company logos.

More than half a century old, this ubiquitous font encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology and communication. HELVETICA explores the places, people and history of the font, revealing a new and surprising aspect of the thousands of words we see every day.'

Massimo Vignelli. Text reads: '“The life of a designer is a life of fight: fight against the ugliness.”
—Massimo Vignelli'

Behind the Scenes

“I wanted to see a documentary about graphic design and typography, but I couldn’t find one. So I made one.

Read The Making Of >>

What Font Are You?

Fonts have personality. There’s the classic traditionalist like Times New Roman, or the playful sort, such as Comic Sans, and then there’s Helvetica, ubiquitous and reliable.

Take the quiz and find your true font type >>

funded by

Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people

with additional support from

the National Endowment for the Arts

PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.