New York and the Realm of Helvetica

I visited New York City for the second time in just a few months. This time, I was with my family for a Memorial Day trip. It was a great time, of course, and I felt more comfortable in the city while simultaneously trying some new things. I didn't have to worry about preparing and presenting at a conference this time, so instead I could be 100% tourist. We rode around on a tour bus, caught a Broadway show, and of course ate some cheesecake.

One of the highlights of my trip was our visit to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Last time I was in NY, we visited the MET, which was good... but it's no MoMA. The MoMA features some great works by a lot of well known artists, like "Starry Night" by Van Gogh and more Picasso than you can shake a stick at. But it also has a ton of great design, like some important Bauhaus and Futurist pieces. The cream of the crop, however, was their special exhibit on Helvetica. You read that right: an entire exhibit on the font Helvetica.

While you may be scoffing at the idea, as a designer who has taken two typography courses, I found it intruiging. The exhibit talked about the development of the font, and how it was then challenged by the later font, Arial. The main focus of the exhibit was to also point out how Helvetica is everywhere. They dedicated an entire wall to examples of its use in everday life (including every subway sign in New York.) There's actually a documentary about the font that was being shown in 5 minute segments.

Sure the font is overused, but it's not obnoxious like most overused fonts-- half the time you don't even realize Helvetica is there. It's the silent killer. I don't think you could necessarily make an entire exhibit in MoMA for Papyrus or Comic Sans. No one takes those fonts seriously. But Helvetica deserved this attention. I'm not a huge Helvetica fan, but this display was sweet.

Hmm... it's a little strange that I spent an entire weekend in New York and all I'm blogging about is a font. I assure you the rest of the trip was excellent as well.