Thursday
Apr122007
50 years of Helvetica
Thursday 12 April, 2007
'Helvetica plays such an important part in our lives that the Museum of Modern Art in New York is celebrating its 50th anniversary by acquiring a set of the original lead type, making it the first typeface to become part of the museum's collection. MoMA is also opening a "50 Years of Helvetica" exhibition on Friday. And Helvetica is the subject of a feature documentary, which premiered last month at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
Why make such a fuss about a typeface? In short, because it does its job so well.'
Link
Formal constraint is still a concern. Free play on the page is straitjacketed on the web, tied by countless non-breaking spaces and limited knowledge of coding practices. We are pawning our work by not considering basics such as font type, size, background colours, download times and browser compatibility. We should be uncompromising and pragmatic, considerate and challenging. If in doubt, pdf it. Screen and page should twin. If this is not the aim, such considerations become even more important.
Why make such a fuss about a typeface? In short, because it does its job so well.'
Link
Formal constraint is still a concern. Free play on the page is straitjacketed on the web, tied by countless non-breaking spaces and limited knowledge of coding practices. We are pawning our work by not considering basics such as font type, size, background colours, download times and browser compatibility. We should be uncompromising and pragmatic, considerate and challenging. If in doubt, pdf it. Screen and page should twin. If this is not the aim, such considerations become even more important.
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