A font. A mere twenty-six letters, a handful of numbers, a few fancy characters. There are thousands of typefaces in existence, but none have really made as large an impact as Helvetica.

The Nashville Chapter of AIGA had the pleasure of showing the documentary celebrating Helvetica's 50 year run. I must say, it was better than I expected. I liked that the whole film did not fully glorify Helvetica, but rather illustrated both positive AND negative viewpoints on this ever-popular (or unpopular) typeface.

This post is not a 'yay' or 'nay' post in regards to Helvetica. I just wanted to take a few paragraphs to give some due respect to an influential font. You have to admit, whether you like Helvetica or loathe its existence, it does commandeer a hefty level of respect.

Helvetica is quite the universal font. Granted, it is NOT the best choice for every situation, but it works. It just works. You can take practically any brand, any design situation be it web or print, and solve it with Helvetica. Now, I'm not saying ANY problem or EVERY situation can be solved or should be solved using Helvetica, but in a vast majority of cases, it CAN be solved and the solution will work. Very few typefaces can say that.

Take a moment to consider all the ways in which Helvetica is in use. You've got American Apparel, GAP, Target, JEEP, Sears, Staples, and hundreds more. SO many instantly recognizable brands use Helvetica. You can use a light version to convey elegance, rough-up a heavy version and you've got a grungy dirty feel, you can use a condensed version to make it feel more modern, or just use it how it is in its regular format. Sure, there are probably (and more than likely) other fonts out there that can do the job better, but Helvetica can do the job as well.. just not always AS well.

Why does Helvetica work so well? At least in branding, it's comfortable. It's clean, uniform, sterile. It lends itself well to that corporate, everyone-wants-to-fit-in feel. Is that a good thing? I'm not really sure. But you have to give it some props.. every character is like a minion in a little typeface army. It is there to do a job and it's there to perform. Each letter is uniform and square. It's well balanced and is easy on the eye. How many other sans-serif fonts can accomplish this? Futura can't. Avant Garde, Gill Sans, Frutiger, Univers.. none of them can perform to that level. Yes, all of these fonts can solve a design dilemma under various circumstances much better than Helvetica. They all lend their own flavor and personality to each situation which makes them superior in some ways. But when you get right down to it, in most situations, Helvetica can be interchanged with any of these fonts and the solution will work.

I respect you, Helvetica. You're famous and obtrusive but in a comfortable kind of way. The brands you represent are ones we all trust. As far as fonts go, I do believe you've achieved far more than ANY other font in the industry.

So I guess what I'm saying, is that whether you love Helvetica or hate it, it's earned a good bit of respect. It's had a strong run over the last 50 years and I can't see it going anywhere anytime soon. This font is here to say and I must add, that I can live with a world full of Helvetica far easier than a world full of Papyrus or Comic Sans.

If Helvetica had a back I'd give it a good pat.

Chef's Best... Marshmallows?

I was enjoying one of my favorite snacks tonight, marshmallows with peanut butter (not to be confused with the infamous Fluffernutter sandwich, which is quite enjoyable in and of itself). Whilst enjoying this culinary wonderment of sugar-peanutty goodness, I noticed a logo on the package. (I notice these things, being a designer). Now, keep in mind, the only marshmallows I buy are Kraft Jet-Puffed. They're tasty and I like the bright colors and marshmallow-y type on the bag. Anywho, I noticed a "Chef'sBest" logo on the front of the package. Supposedly this "ChefsBest" crew goes around judging the best-tasting foods among leading competitors. They even get certified as Master Tasters.

What I want to know, is who are Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows leading competitors?? Really. I honestly can't think of another brand. I mean, how does this competition go? "Ladies and Gentlemen, up next we've got the ever delicious Kroger brand marshmallow followed closely by the occasionally-stale Weis brand marshmallow." Let's get real here. Has anybody else noticed other marshmallow brands beside Kraft and generic brands? WHO is the competition here? Is it really fair to say they are the best among leading competitors when there really isn't any competition? Or at least any serious competition? It's not like paper towels where you have Bounty, Brawny, Scott and the hands-down best Viva by Kleenex brand (when it comes to quality anyway.. taste I'm not so sure). That would be real competition and a winner would be fully deserving of the title. But marshmallows?? Hmm. At any rate, I could REALLY go for some S'mores right about now..

Also. How cool would it be to say you are a "Master Taster." Seriously. That would be AWESOME. I definitely picked the wrong field. Definitely. "No. MY mom's meatloaf is better. I should know. I am a MASTER TASTER after all." I'd say that title commands some respect, don't you?

P.S. Somebody actually posted rules for Chubby Bunny??

Guster Thumbs

Some random thumbnail images of Guster from my cellphone. Took these at the Beale St. Music Festival. So lame that they wouldn't allow cameras. Even more lame that I wasn't smart enough to figure out how to sneak one in. Ah well. Enjoy!

    

ROCK out!!

Went to see the Deftones in concert last night. AWESOME. Freaking AWESOME. Now, most of you know me to be this mellow, laid back, indy/alternative/folk-loving, semi-hippie girl. But little do most people know, I have an insatiable hunger for really loud, angry music. Now, not the music where it's JUST screaming. I like my music to be music.. just with a heaping side of angry, not so much rage. And last night's fest was a smorgasbord of angry, loud, sweat-filled, mosh-tastic, ROCK. I. Loved. It.

I just have this thing for angry music. I think because I'm not naturally an angry person, and even when I am angry, I really am not one to lash out that often. With angry music, I can feel their anger when I'm angry and it just does the trick. And the energy. The energy is just amazing. There is so much.. I don't know.. passion, feeling, just pure energy that comes out of angry music. I just can't get enough of it. When you're at a rock concert (I tend to be one of the kids up in the front) everyone is jumping and screaming and pumping their fists and banging their heads, and sweating... Oh the sweating! It's disgusting.. the sweat just poured off my arms, my clothes were soaked, the music was pounding.. you could feel it in every part of your body, the reverberations. All of it. The whole experience. It really is a rush. And afterwards, the adrenaline is just overwhelming.. I cranked the music up in my car and rocked out some more.. back at the apartment I was still wide awake and ready to go.

I wish that concert could have gone all night. Really. It was just SO good. I think anger, as an emotion, is highly underrated. Really.. it's so powerful. If put to good it can do wonders. No major change in society has ever come from a contented people. Ever. Without anger there would be no women voters, no freedom for anyone, segregation would still exist.. if it were not for anger, this world would be a pretty lame place.

Guitar Hero. On the big screen

Emma's awesome! Rented out a theater down the street. Bunch of folks (in our 20s to 30s) all hanging out, drinking beer, and playing Guitar Hero on a big screen. Fantastic!

Thriller

I hand-coded a Michael Jackson MadLib using PHP!! It looks kinda crappy though. If it wasn't already 11 in the pm I'd apply some CSS to this bad boy. Ah well. I'm just excited it works!

Check it out, fool.

In my Element

So I'm all good and cheerful! I bought a PHP book and am on my way to learning how to use it. This is all I've got so far. Which doesn't look like, and really isn't, much of anything. BUT my thirst for everything nerdy is being quenched.

And on that note, Kevin gave me a summer reading list! I'm psyched! It is as follows:

In this order or don’t bother.

1 – William Goldman’s The Princess Bride
2 – Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea
3 – Brian K Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man Vol. 1: Unmanned
4 - Angela Carter’s The Magic Toyshop
5 – Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman
6 – Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing
7 – Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House
8 – Roald Dahl’s Someone Like You
9 & 10 – L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz directly followed by (don’t even pause) Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

AND I just received Veer's latest promotion titled "The Missing Piece." The 513 piece jigsaw puzzle was wedged in my mailbox.
It's comprised of 4 images, vintage movie poster-style, showcasing their images and typefaces. I love it! Very creative. Veer has to be one of my favorite stock photo/font providers, even though I've never actually purchased anything from them. But still. Plus, they have some really kick-ass desktop wallpaper. I think I'll be saving the puzzle for a rainy day.

And that's about it for today. I'm going to make some dinner, study some PHP, and work on finishing some Kerouak.

Peace out G!