Complex Simplicity
Univers
In 1957, Adrian Frutiger created Univers.
“ When I put my pen to a blank sheet, black isn’t added but rather the white sheet is deprived of light. [...] Thus I also grasped that the empty spaces are the most important aspect of a typeface.” Adrian Frutiger
creator
Adrian Frutiger is one of the most important
Frutiger, is a humanistic sans serif that has
strated that the classical modern face was
type designers to emerge since World War II.
been compared to Gill & Johnston types.
neither outdated nor necessarily caused
He is the designer of many notable faces—the
legibility problems. Frutiger himself is
best known being the sans serifs Univers &
typefaces including OCR-B a type for optical
skeptical about theories of legibility. In fact,
Frutiger—and was one of the first designers
character recognition. His 1982 Breughel is
He learned to read with gothic characters
to create type for film.
an original face almost wholly comprised of
without difficulty & says legibility is solely
curves & fitting into no existing type category.
a matter of habit.
Although Frutiger has said that all his
Frutiger has created a broad range of
types have Univers as their skeleton he felt,
He has embraced new technology & used it to
when he came to design a face for the Charles
advantage in faces such as Centennial,
de Gaulle Airport at Roissy, that Univers
a modern whose fine serifs are made possible
seemed dated, with a 1960’s feel. His airport
by recent improvements in definition. More
face, originally known as Roissy but renamed
than ten years earlier his Iridium had demon-
2|3
Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa 39
53
63
73
93
Aa Aa Aa Aa
53
63
73
93
45
45
47
47
49
55
55
57
57
59
65
65
67
67
75
75
85
85
The weight of the letter is specified by number
By overlapping each letter, you can see how minute each letter’s anatomy changes.
characteristics
To achieve the goal of an expansive, integrated type family, designers must be sensitive to the nuances of each letterform while simultaneously considering the overall system. In the case of Univers, this sophisticated approach to type-family design is supported by a well-considered set of typographical characters. Frutiger began with the assumption that “a purely geometric character is unacceptable in the long run, for the vertical ones; an O represented by a perfect circle strikes us as shapeless and has a disturbing effect on the word as a whole. 4|5
By overlapping a Z and a T of the same point size, variation in stroke thickness becomes apparent. Frutiger’s decision to use different stroke thicknesses for the horizontal, diagonals, and verticals was a response to his assessment of visual discrepancies in other typefaces. It is also no coincidence that Frutiger’s interest in creating a functional and efficient type family followed welldocumented scientific research done in the 1930s and ‘40s on the mechanics of eye movement during reading.
c
Hn nn 3
1
2
6|7
1. The difference in size between capitals and lower3. case is fairly small, so as to give a tranquil appearance to the page. The weight and height of the letters are determined by optical, not mathematical. 4. 2. The italic styles are derived from the roman. The vertical rotates to the oblique around a horizontal centre line.
The c is smaller than the o because in open letters the white space achieves greater penetration into the form, thereby appearing larger. The n is slightly larger than the u because white entering a letterform from the top appears more active than white entering from the bottom.
4
While Frutiger’s goal was to make letters that fit together so flawlessly that the assemblage formed a new satisfying gestalt, he also deemed it important that individual letterforms remain distinct from one another. “Built up from a geometric basis, the lines must play freely,” Frutiger wrote, “so that the individuals find their own expression and join together in a cohesive structure in word, line, and page.” To maintain the integrity of each letterform, careful optical adjustments were made, based on the current knowledge of the principles of perception.
Ascenders and descenders were shortened in comparison with existing typographic norms, and x-heights were increased. Larger x-heights also provided greater legibility, addressing the concern that sans-serif type was more difficult to read than serif type. All of these innovations contributed to the overall harmony among letters, allowing for a smooth line flow.
comparisons
Univers font was created almost simultaneously with other successful alphabets: Helvetica (1957) and Optima (1958). Whereas Helvetica, for example, had a general clarity and a modern, timeless and neutral effect without any conspicuous attributes (lending to its great success), Univers expressed a factual and cool elegance, a rational competence.
8|9
1.
Helvetica Neue has a taller x-height than Univers
2.
Stroke variation is a defining characteristic of Univers
3.
The junction of the Gill Sans ‘M’ does not fall on the baseline
4.
An Unusual quality of Univers is that the horizontal strokes which join up run slightly conically towards the outside, so that filling-in of black is prevented.
5.
The ‘k’ of Univers and Gill Sans uses a single junction compared to Helvetica’s double junction.
aMk Univers: grey Helvetica Neue: grey outline Gill Sans: grey dotted outline
3
5
1
2
4
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Univers 55 Roman
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Helvetica Neue Regular
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Gill Sans Regular
UNIVERS
HELVETICA NEUE
higher x-height
10|11
UNIVERS
square tittle
HELVETICA NEUE
GILL SANS
rectangular tittle
circle tittle GILL SANS
higher x-height
angular terminal
lower x-height
bibliography
Blackwell, Lewis. 20th-Century Type. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. (A&A: Z250.A2 B59 1998 and Vault) Kunz, Willi. Typography: Macro- and Microaesthetics. Sulgen: Verlag Niggli AG, 2000. (A&A: Z246 .K86 2000 and Vault) Carter, Sebastian. Twentieth Century Type Designers. Great Britain: Lund Humphries, 2002. (A&A: Z250 A2 C364 1995 and Vault) Revival of the Fittest: Digital Versions of Classic Typefaces, essays by Carolyn Annand ... [et al.]; edited by Philip B. Meggs and Roy McKelvey, New York: RC Publications, 2000. (A&A: Z250.R45 2000) http://www.linotype.com http://www.fonts.com
Designed by Alana Rosenberg Fall 2012 for Typography I Communication Design Washington University in St. Louis