For many of those who practice it, design is not only a job, but also a passion and an interest to pursue in their spare time. The line between work and entertainment can sometimes become blurred, as in the case of the many documentaries, shows, and talks, which can be seen as educational opportunities or as leisure products.
In recent decades, interest around design and graphics has certainly grown a lot, and with that has also grown the audio and video products that chronicle this world and its protagonists, ranging from independent projects to productions distributed by the big streaming giants.
Below we have collected for you some of the documentaries from the last few years that have left their mark the most and offer interesting insights to designers and non-designers alike.
Graphic Means (2017), Briar Levit
Graphic Means is an independent documentary made by Briar Levit, professor of Graphic Design at Portland State University, and funded through a kickstarter fundraiser.
Graphic Means provides an interesting look at what was the world of graphic design between the 1950s and 1990s, before the advent of desktop publishing some 30 years ago completely revolutionized it. This period is perhaps the one that saw the most rapid change in the profession; in the space of a few decades, in fact, there was a shift from letterpress printing via linotype (then in use for decades) to photocomposition to digital software.
A series of actions that today are performed simply by pressing keys in front of a computer, then involved a variety of processes, attempts, tools and key professional figures.
The documentary was born out of a desire to explore a method of design and production of which many designers, trained since the 1990s, are very often unaware, as was the filmmaker to some extent before starting the project.
After being screened at several festivals and events, the documentary can now be seen streaming at www.graphicmeans.com
Helvetica (2007), Gary Hustwit
Helvetica, perhaps one of the most famous documentaries on graphic design, starting from the ubiquity of a specific typeface, Helvetica precisely, analyzes how typography is an integral part of urban architecture and how it consequently profoundly influences our everyday life and lives, sometimes even unknowingly.
Contributing to the central theme are interviews with some of the most innovative and well-known designers, who talk about their work, design method and relationship with typography. Among them are Erik Spiekermann, Matthew Carter, Massimo Vignelli, Wim Crouwel, Hermann Zapf, Neville Brody, Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Bierut, David Carson, Paula Scher, Jonathan Hoefler, Tobias Frere-Jones, Experimental Jetset, Michael C. Place, Norm, Alfred Hoffmann, Mike Parker, Bruno Steinert, Otmar Hoefer, Leslie Savan, Rick Poynor, and Lars Müller.
Helvetica is the debut film of director Gary Hustwit, who went on to make other notable design documentaries, such as Objectified (2008), Urbanized (2011), and Rams (2018). His interest in typography and design stems from a desire to get closer to what is commonly taken for granted to reveal the work behind the scenes, but more importantly the impact on our lives.
Helvetica is available to stream for a fee on Vimeo.
Abstract: The Art of Design (2017-2019), Scott Dadich
Abstract: The Art of Design is a two-season Netflix original series that follows established designers in diverse fields and chronicles their creative process.
Each episode follows a different designer and builds an intimate portrait of them, recounting their particularities, habits and daily routines, as well as their successes and working methods.
The featured designers come from different cities around the world and work in different fields, from sneaker design to set design to typeface design. The series offers an interesting insight into the variety of fields in which a designer can operate, so much so that it seems incredible to think that such different roles are defined by the same name; but, at the same time, it also offers parallels on the similarity of the process followed, punctuated by iterations of research, decision-making and refinement.
Among the featured designers are graphic designer Paula Scher, typeface designer Jonathan Hoefler, illustrator Christoph Niemann, and costume designer Ruth E. Carter.
Bauhaus: The Face of the 20th Century (1994), Frank Whitford
The Bauhaus was a German art school, active from 1919 to 1933, that became famous for its innovative approach to design. Founded by architect Walter Gropius in Weimar (and later moving to Dessau and later Berlin), the school’s cardinal principle was that all the arts were on an equal footing, and therefore that there are no lesser arts, and that they contribute to each other.
The documentary traces the milestones in the school’s development, and the difficulties it faced in facing pressure from the Nazi regime, which saw the school as a center of subversive ideas. Although Bauhaus was very short-lived, it left an important legacy, which the documentary chronicles.
Design is One: Lella & Massimo Vignelli (2013), Kathy Brew, Roberto Guerra
Design is One traces nearly fifty years of the careers of Lella and Massimo Vignelli, the design duo who helped shape the current urban landscape from a typographic standpoint in America, and who had a defining influence on design in the second half of the twentieth century. Even those who are unfamiliar with the two designers’ names have surely come across the work of their firm Vignelli Associates before or since, including, for example, the graphic system of the subway in New York, or that of the State Railways in Italy, or the visual identity of American Airlines. But the firm’s work was highly interdisciplinary and ranged from typography, corporate image, product and furniture design, interiors, packaging, books, maps and brochures.
The documentary focuses heavily on the collaboration of the two designers and the complementary nature of their skills, acknowledging Lella’s enormous contribution, which, often over the previous decades has been glossed over by the press, which has repeatedly attributed her work to her husband.
Together with the documentary Helvetica (which was Massimo Vignelli’s favorite and widely used typeface), Design Is One further solidified the Vignellis’ enormous contribution to design in the public consciousness.
The documentary is accessible by streaming for a fee at designisonefilm.com.
Now that you have some interesting insights to explore the world of design and graphic design in a different way, all you have to do is turn on the TV…
Enjoy your viewing!