Helvetica Paper
2008
This is my version of Helvetica. It was created by printing a pattern on sticker sheets and cutting out the letters using a scalpel. I then glued the letters to pieces of paper and scanned them back into the computer.
The idea was to alter Helvetica in a way far from its intentional use. Helvetica was created in 1957 under heavy modernist influence and has high legibility and a somewhat neutral presents. I think the great power of Helvetica is its ability to adapt to its context. If you write a banner saying, “Stop the war” with Helvetica it seems natural. If you design a tax bill then Helvetica would fit just fine and if you design a flyer for some 24hour ecstasy/amphetamine party Helvetica would work. It has an amazing ability to fit in many different situations. I think that is the reason for its half century of success.
For this project I wanted to alter Helvetica, not its surroundings. I wanted to examine this modernist marvel by taking it out of the computer and rebuilding it using only the most basic tools.
