Book: Homage to Helvetica

[ktinkel]

I finally received my copy of Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface, written, designed, and published by Lars Müller.

It is a fabulous little book (roughly 5 X 6.5 inches, an inch thick). It contains minimal text and hundreds of captured images of Helvetica in use — in print, on signs, in ads; in many languages — from all around the globe. There are small quotes scattered around the images but very little defense of the ubiquitous typeface. Maybe Helvetica’s ubiquity alone is the point.

From the back cover:
This book sings the praises of the shift worker and solo entertainer of typefaces, of its forgotten creator and all those who have contributed to its unparalleled international march of triumph over the past forty years. The designs gathered together here in honor of Helvetica have been created by superb designers and anonymous amateurs from all over the world. They present a unique panoply of this icon of modern design. Helvetica is not only the preferred typeface of leading professionals, it is also an all-time favorite among the multitude of codes and signals and commands that enliven urban life. Helvetica is the perfume of the city.
The book itself is junk; badly bound (my copy separated from the spine after half an hour of handling) and one of its not so cute features is that the buyer must cut all the pages by hand, as they were perforated but not trimmed. And it took forever to get — I ordered it three times, and the first two after weeks and weeks said they didn’t actually have it to sell. Finally I found this copy from a small dealer in NYC.)

But you know what? I am very glad to have it, and recommend it to anyone who loves, hates, or is equivocal about Helvetica. This book might change your mind.

The hardcover edition is out of print, but the publisher says a paperback is forthcoming.

I am attaching a spread (one of three) that shows a diverse collection of logos based on Helvetica, as well as a picture of the cover.

[dthomsen8]

But you know what? I am very glad to have it, and recommend it to anyone who loves, hates, or is equivocal about Helvetica. This book might change your mind.


Would you say that this book might change my mind in a favorable direction?

This is the kind of book that I would try to get from the Free Library of Philadelphia, and failing that, from Interlibrary Loan. I have been using the Central Library much more, now that my other half doesn't want me to buy more books. Should I make an effort to get the book, KT?

[ktinkel]

Would you say that this book might change my mind in a favorable direction? . . . Should I make an effort to get the book, KT?Hmmm. Don’t know, actually.

We have already established that Helvetica (and Arial) are hard to read on screen. Learning to love it (or hate it) will not change that.

But there is something fascinating about Helvetica’s ubiquity, especially as so many designers claim to hate the face. I picked up the new New Yorker shortly after getting this little book, and I must have seen a dozen ads using Helvetica.

So if you can find it at your library, why not at least take a look (there isn’t much to read, really, and what there is is either huge or so tiny you can easily miss it. (Some of the captions and comments are set bizarrely in the same small type size as the photo credits, or maybe a hair larger.)

[donmcc]

The book itself is junk; badly bound

Ah yes, but they saved 25 cents in getting it printed at the lowest cost supplier.

I feel for the author, who's work is massacred by some production manager looking to save a few bucks on the job.

[ktinkel]

Ah yes, but they saved 25 cents in getting it printed at the lowest cost supplier.

I feel for the author, who's work is massacred by some production manager looking to save a few bucks on the job.I would be more sympathetic if the book had not been conceived of, designed, written, edited, and produced by the one man (so far as I can tell).

It includes images and comments from many others, but it is published by Lars Müller Publishers, so he gets the blame as well as credit for the interesting content.

I think I will have to have the binding repaired, if possible, as it is positively scary to open the book, let alone try to read it in any normal fashion. The not-so-perfect binding looks as if it will start shedding pages any second!

[ktinkel]

I finally received my copy of Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface, written, designed, and published by Lars Müller. . .

The book itself is junk . . .I am glad to say that I got a copy of the paperback edition, and it is much better bound. In signatures. You can actually open it fully to see the whole spread. It even feels better.

In fact, I think it was born to be a paperback book — more appropriate to Helvetica, anyway.

It is $20 from William Stout Books (http://www.stoutbooks.com/cgi-bin/stoutbooks.cgi/results_splash.html?cat1=Design&cat2=Typography). A nice little gift for yourself!

[Michael Rowley]

KT:

A nice little gift for yourself!

And the ISBN is?

[ktinkel]

And the ISBN is?Hmmm. There are two:

ISBN 13: 978-3-03778-046-6 and 10: 3-03778-046-0

There is also a European distributor: Birkhäuser Publishers for Architecture; orders@birkhauser.ch

[Michael Rowley]

KT:

SBN 13: 978-3-03778-046-6 and 10: 3-03778-046-0

Thank you. That's the first time I've seen a 13 digit ISBN, but I suppose we'll soon have to get used to them.

[Norman Hathaway]

Lars is a brilliant publisher KT. You already own one of his other books- the Weingart tome. Tiny publisher in Switzerland. Have them send you a booklist, as there are other titles you would enjoy.

N

[ktinkel]

Lars is a brilliant publisher KT. You already own one of his other books- the Weingart tome. Tiny publisher in Switzerland. Have them send you a booklist, as there are other titles you would enjoy.
Oy. I need to enjoy more titles!

Did you see my comments about Leslie Carbaga’s Logo, Font & Lettering Bible (http://www.desktoppublishingforum.com/bb/showthread.php?t=2634)? At first blush it did not seem especially promising — his work is kind of very 70s — but in fact it is very useful. And dense.

The stuff on how to use Illustrator to achieve special effects (most of them prior to the current version — all manual stuff) is very good. As is his section on drawing stick letters.

[Gerry Kowarsky]

Your note about this book reminded me of how much I enjoyed the chapters on Helvetica in Typed Best Remembered / Types Best Forgotten, edited by Robert Norton. In the Remembered section, Peter Karow discusses his involvement in digitizing Helvetica and similar fonts over the years. The history is fascinating here. We are lucky it was preserved. The same is true of the two chapters by Mike Parker (one in Remembered and one in Forgotten). Parker's comments are eye-openers on the technical and economic factors that contributed to Helvetica's popularity. In the Forgotten section, Alistair Johnston refers to the font as "Velveetica" in the midst of some thoughtful criticism of the design.

[ktinkel]

Your note about this book reminded me of how much I enjoyed the chapters on Helvetica in Typed Best Remembered / Types Best Forgotten, edited by Robert Norton.Shame on me — I had forgotten those.

Thanks.