A few months ago, I saw the documentary Helvetica about the history and proliferation of the typeface Helvetica and about how typography affects our lives. In the film, London-based typographer Mark Parker says this:
When you talk about the design of Haas Neue Grotesk or Helvetic, what it’s all about is the interrelationship of the negative shape, the figure-ground relationship, the shapes between characters and within characters, with the black, if you like, with the inked surface. And the Swiss pay more attention to the background, so that the counters and the space between characters just hold the letters. I mean you can’t imagine anything moving; it is so firm. It not a letter that bent to shape; it’s a letter that lives in a powerful matrix of surrounding space. It’s… oh, it’s brilliant when it’s done well.
I’ve always taken notice to space, just as much form. When I was in elementary school and the teacher would write math equations on the chalk board, I remember being more concerned about the spaces in between the numbers than the actual numbers (you can guess how good I was at math) wondering if my teacher was aware of the fact that that the spaces were sometimes smaller between certain numbers and wider between others. I wondered if the teacher was doing this on purpose or if he was just sloppy. I remember trying so hard accurately copy down the different spaces, as well as the numbers, in my notebook.
I think we define our lives by form – what we are doing, the people in it, the accomplishments, the milestones in life. But I would say the spaces in between and around things are just as important, if not more important, and actually shape our lives, yet we pay little attention to them. I’ve learned to appreciate the space between films, projects, meetings, trips, even lovers. It is in the space between where things flourish, breathe and we can reflect and learn from the form in our lives.
Some recent beautiful spaces in my life:
BC Ballet
Yummy and refreshing
Puppy kisses
