Typophile

Not Postwar Design Books?

grubstreet

I used to think that the present world of design is dictated by Swiss and Germans. The postwar era, in my opinion, shaped almost all aspects of the present modern design, organized by grids, driven by scientific psycho-biology researches and aiming for the maximum efficiency and responsibility. They seem to be totally fine for me, but I am more curious, after working for a letterpress artist & typographer, about whether there are alternative choices to Helvetica (and all other postwar rational movements it epitomizes)?

The design program I attend has filled its list with many Helveticas, starting from Josef Muller-Brockmann to Tschichold’s Die Neue Typographie (except for Bringhurst). I wonder if there are other design books that do not necessarily follow this trend.

Nick Shinn

Ben Lieberman eschewed the modernist myth:
http://books.google.ca/books/about/Type_and_Typefaces.html?id=XjBUAAAAMA...

The modernist narrative is a canon for critics (it’s glamorous) and educators (it’s easy to teach), not historians. See my essay in Codex 3 for a debunking.

grubstreet

@Nick Shinn, thanks for the recommendation!

James Michaels

Helvetica is a good typeface but can look a little dated due to its heavy use a few decades ago. But it's still used a lot (for example Apple uses it) and the general public may not pick up on the overuse as much as designers do.

Most designers I know who use Helvetica today (because it's their client's corporate font) tend towards the lighter weights (and sometimes condensed) which can look more contemporary than the bolder weights.

And certainly there are many alternatives to Helvetica.

Hrant H Papazian

Do a search for "Helvetica alternatives" – great stuff comes up.

hhp

Martin Silvertant

Shameless self-promotion, but this may interest you as well: http://typophile.com/node/120733#comment-591161

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