Magica Helvetica

«Ahhhh… technology. The geniuses at Plexifilm have spent the past two years developing a Sharpie pen that actually writes in Helvetica!»

as Gary Hustwits recently announced: The sensation is here: A pen which allows you to write in Helvetica by hand! Of course everyone who's into typography has to have one – even if he or she belongs to the strange group of designers who actually use more than three fonts and envision themselves as Anti-Helveticans.

The pen is one of the diverse merchandising products linked to Hustwit's documentary «Helvetica». Unlike the other stuff like DVDs, posters or bags the pen isn't for sale itself. It comes for free with any order made through the Helvetica shop – as long there are still pens left of course. (via Objectified Film)

I guess we all know that the story of Helvetica is a special one. And every time I'm scrolling through my font library I stop for a fraction of a second when it's passing the screen. It's definitly a reliable and nearly indestructable piece of work done – just a few kilometers from where I am writing these lines – in Münchenstein near Basel.

But I don't want to do the tourist guide now: The pen isn't just the only current matter to mention related to Helvetica. The AIGA (the American Institute of Graphic Arts) released an interesting essay written by Paul Shaw about «The (Mostly) True Story of Helvetica and the New York City Subway» on their website.

The signage of the New Yorkian subway system is one of the first examples alleged if someone wants to prove Helvetica's universal applicability once more. But the «Neue Haas Grotesk» – as Helvetica was originally called – wasn't the first choice. It was the official typeface of the MTA today but it wasn't specified as the typeface for the signage developed by Unimark International in the 1960s. On nine pages the author wants

«… to tell a story that ultimately transcends the simple issue of Helvetica and the subway.»

Great! So we can hold the balance today: We marvel at the invisible magic of a pen while we're reading the secrets hidden in the endless tunnels of the New Yorkian subway's history away.