Opening (with Manfred Schulz)

(calm music) - [Rick] Type is saying things to us all the time, typefaces express a mood, an atmosphere, they give words a certain coloring.

- [Michael] Everywhere you look you see typefaces but there's probably one you see more than any other one and that's Helvetica, you know, there it is and it sorta just seems to come from nowhere. It seems like air, it seems like gravity. - [Jonathan] And it's hard to evaluate it, it's like being asked what you think about off white paint, it's just there and it's hard to get your head around, its that big. - [Erik] Most people who use Helvetica, use it because it's ubiquitous. It's like going to McDonald's instead of thinking about food. Because it's there, it's on every street corner, so let's eat crap because it's on the corner.

- [Michael C.] For me Helvetica's just this beautiful, timeless thing. And certain things shouldn't be messed with, you know? - [Rick] Graphic Design is the communication framework through which these messages about what the world is now, and what we should aspire to. It's the way they reach us. The designer has an enormous responsibility. Those are the people, you know, putting their wires into our heads.