If your sweetheart is a graphic designer, it’s quite possible that he or she loves not only you but also Helvetica. Developed in 1957, Helvetica is the ubiquitous, sans-serif typeface that captured designers’ hearts almost immediately upon its release with its perfect, neutral letterforms.

There’s no sense in being jealous of your sweetie’s love for Helvetica. It’s everywhere, from the iPhone to Target to the NYC subway. Helvetica will always been in the picture. Instead, accept Helvetica’s place in your relationship. That should earn you at least a few points this Valentine’s Day.

Begin your journey to acceptance with Helvetica: The Movie. Not exactly romantic, Helvetica is a documentary about the much-loved typeface. The film was originally released in 2007, and it’s still playing in only a few locations around the world. (Visit this site and scroll to the 2008 dates for show times.) Alternatively, you can order up the movie online or just add it to your Netflix queue. A two hour film about a typeface may not sound all that interesting, but it will definitely help you understand Helvetica’s influential role in modern culture. And the movie is surprisingly funny and entertaining throughout, due in large part to the graphic and type designers who appear in the film.

If the movie doesn’t convince you that your sweetheart isn’t the only one out there nursing a bizarre love for Helvetica, you might also want to pick up Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface by Lars Müller. This book suggests that Helvetica itself is a major means of communication in the 20th century, and it includes intriguing visuals that together give you some sense of how the typeface is used around the world.

The author plans to release a second book on Helvetica in the spring entitled Helvetica Forever: Story of a Typeface. It’s unclear whether this is a companion to Homage, or something that overlaps it.

Of course, chocolate and flowers are never a bad idea, but acknowledging your sweetheart’s other love may just win you some points in the thoughtfulness department.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 at 2:57 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.