The Blu-ray edition of Helvetica is now available on Netflix. Add it to your queue.

The Rather Difficult Font Game.

We ended up having some extra tote bags left over from our Blu-ray deluxe edition, so we decided to screen another design. Since we (and probably you) are tired of seeing “A documentary film by…” printed on everything, we decided to take it down to the basics:

We thought about making them red on black, sort of a spin on those ubiquitous Knoll totes. But after a coin flip, white on black was the winner. Should be a few of them up in the shop in a week or so.

The screenings continue… this month there are events in Memphis, Nova Scotia, Waterloo, Auckland, Santa Barbara, Weisbaden, Rochester, London, Christchurch, and Vancouver. Check the screening schedule for details (scroll down).

The suave folks at Blanka and Candy organized a 50 Years of Helvetica print show that’s been touring exhibit spaces worldwide. Now they’ve made a short film of the opening at the Design Museum London for your viewing pleasure.

Sam Mallett, a graphic design student from The University of Wales, has done a series of prints using the original metal type versions of Neue Haas Grotesk and Helvetica.

From Sam: “I did a short work placement in Zürich and had the opportunity to play with some lead type, so I designed and printed this poster to illustrate a small but important change in the typeface’s development. It’s an A3 poster with 72pt. Halbfett Haas Grotesk in one colour and 72pt. Halbfett Helvetica in another. I printed and numbered 100 posters in various colours. You can see the colours and photos of the printing process on my Flickr page. To make some funds for my final major project I was hoping to sell a few. If anyone wants to buy one, contact me at sammallett [at] mosaicparty [dot] com”

Okay, one more “It was a year ago today…” memory, then I’ll spare you my nostalgia. This screening was so packed that we had to let people sit in the projection booth. And the 50 Years of Helvetica exhibit is still up at MoMA until March 31. By the way, all our letterpress prints and cards were printed by the excellent Coeur Noir Letterpress here in Brooklyn. Tell ‘em I sent ya.

Austin, Texas - March 13, 2007

It was one year ago today that Helvetica had its World Premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Showing the film in public for the first time was surreal, and extremely stressful, but it was a life-changing event for me. I’d never made a film before, and it was incredible to have a sold-out audience respond like they did, and then do my first Q&A session (with David Carson, no less). Suddenly I was a filmmaker, where before that day I was just a guy who liked films and had helped some friends produce a few of their documentaries.

My head is still reeling from the 12 months that followed. Visiting 100 cities in 25 countries, meeting (literally) thousands of designers all over the world. Hearing from all the people who were inspired by the film. Seeing it broadcast on BBC1 in England, getting nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, all of this is way beyond what I ever imagined when I first came up with the idea to make a movie about a font. The result is that I’m addicted to the process of directing documentaries, and plan on making as many as I can until they stop me.

So on its one-year anniversary, I’d like to once again thank everyone who helped me make this film, everyone who’s actually in it, everyone who helped organize events during the past year, everyone who’s watched the film, and every graphic designer on the planet. You all rock.

What’s next? Helvetica focused on the people who make type, and how graphic design affects our lives. My next film focuses on the world of industrial design: the people who make objects, and how those objects affect our lives. Yeah, that’s sort of a vague description, I know. We’ll have a website up soon that’ll give you more details. I’ll try to continue blogging here for the near future, and then switch over to the new film blog at some point.

The one thing I’ve learned about making documentaries is that each one is an adventure. So I hope you’ll stick around to see me through the next one.

Cheers!

-Gary

The Blu-ray editions are now available for pre-order. Standard edition here, European orders here, and the awesome Experimental Jetset limited edition that I’m holding, here. And I promise this is the last “blu” pun in my post titles…

The Deck is a network of very cool websites which we are honored to be a part of. Two new sites have just joined our group: FFFFOUND! and Cluster Flock. Explore.