Design in Hamburg

Hamburg's second design festival starts tomorrow, with a week of exhibitions, open houses, lectures, seminars, and other events, on all things design (fashion, furniture, product design, communication design, architecture, etc.). Our classes have been cancelled for a few days so that we can participate in the various activities and I promise to do at least one thing (the ambitious person that I am). Next week I'm going to a screening of Helvetica, a documentary that uses a single typeface as a springboard to explore the past 50 years of graphic design and our "global visual culture." I'm really looking forward to it, as I've been itching to see this film for a while.

In case you are wondering, Helvetica is a sans-serif font similar to Arial (the typeface I use for the body text of my blog) that grew immensely popular in the 1960s. You have probably seen it numerous times today -- on everyday signs that say No Loitering, Push/Pull, Exit, Ladies/Men, etc.. Otherwise, think of Toyota, Panasonic, the Gap, or Lufthansa -- these companies all use Helvetica to represent their brands. The font is either praised for its clean, crisp lines and modern aesthetic or blasted for being "bland, unadventurous, and unambitious" (ueberfamous graphic designer Neville Brody).

Okay, because I should know that a picture is worth a thousand words, why don't I just show you.

Subway sign in New York City:

Poster for the film:

Now that you know more than you ever wanted to about Helvetica, what say you? Universally appealing or standardly boring?