Things Are Coming Together Nicely

            I really enjoyed the critique regarding our initials project. It's always better to have someone else look at your work because they will notice things that you may have overlooked. Everyone gave great feedback, and the criticism was even better. No one flat out said, "what were you thinking when you did this project?" That would be intimidating. Anyone could tell that this was our first project because the creator would often say, "I didn't know how to do this, or I didn't know what type font to use." Once you figure out ways to manipulate your audience, you then realize you mastered the programs.

It's good that we are starting out slow instead of jumping into a complex project because many of us would be lost. That's how I felt about our project when it was first announced. I didn't get a chance to fool around with the software beforehand so I had to complete my project the day before our projects were due. It was very stressful, but it was a great learning experience.

As time progresses, I can see myself understanding InDesign and Illustrator much better than I did before. InDesign and Illustrator are complicated programs if you don’t know what you are doing. There are so many features built into each of the programs that you’ll be hard pressed if you can’t complete your intended design. The one great thing about using well known programs is that a lot of people put tutorials on video hosting sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. You can also get basic help with those programs through a simple Google search. Techniques are going to the basis of this class so it’ll be interesting to see what my classmates figure out on their own. I can't wait to see what we produce by the end of this class.

My Thoughts: Helvetica

            Helvetica is more than a type font, it's a lifestyle. It surrounds us like air, and there's no way to escape. When you think about it, Helvetica isn't hard to miss. It's featured on menus, signs, brochures, buildings, street signs, college campuses, highway exits, and anywhere else imaginable. One of the first artist from the film stated, "Eat crap because it's on the corner." It was a reference to fast food restaurants, but he wanted to stress how often you could see Helvetica being used in everyday life.

The history behind Helvetica is quite interesting as well. Helvetica was born in the year 1957. Since then people have used it in various ways, and they even tried to change its shape and form. There were a few periods where Helvetica seemed abstract, and it became more edgy. During the 90's, artists turned Helvetica into this grunge type font that some people loved while others hated it. Nowadays people use various type fonts to make their work stand out, but Helvetica is definitely recognizable wherever you go.

I decided to watch a few more clips from the film, Helvetica, just to get a refresher. I stumbled across this quote that made me realize how good and relevant this movie is. This first quote is from Massimo Vignelli. "You can say, "I love you," in Helvetica. And you can say it with Helvetica Extra Light if you want to be really fancy. Or you can say it with the Extra Bold if it's really intensive and passionate, you know, and it might work." The way you choose to use Helvetica is up to you. You can say the simplest thing, and Helvetica can completely change the meaning. For that reason alone, Helvetica is one of the most important typefaces we have. People will continue to use Helvetica as long as it's relevant. I can't imagine a future where Helvetica isn't relevant.