how the
works
The genius is in the details.
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univers
futura
gill sans
“If you remember the shape of your spoon at lunch, it has to be the wrong shape. The spoon and the letter are tools; one to take food from the bowl, the other to take information off the page... When it is a good design, the reader has to feel comfortable because the letter is both banal and beautiful.�
—Adrian Frutiger
Meet Univers,
Adrian Frutiger’s 1957 geometrically based, optically adjusted, elegant yet friendly sans serif typeface.
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Adrian Frutiger, born May 24th, 1928, is one of the most influential type designers to emerge
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since World War II. He is the designer of many notable faces and was one of the first designers to create vastly expansive type families with
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numerically based weight systems rather than simply regular, italics, and bold. In order to fundamentally understand this typeface, we
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must realize that even the subtlest of details can have the biggest impact on overall letterform and legibility.
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varied width in bowls
slanted lower terminal
subtle angle shift 3
dot wider than stem
dramatically slanted
Sometimes, the smallest details can make the biggest difference.
stems drift away from vertical...
...rather than remain geometrically true
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univers
helvetica neue
‘N’ is wider here ‘u’ is wider here
To achieve the goal of an expansive, integrated type family,
seem heavier than the exact same width at the top of a letter
designers must be sensitive to the nuances of each letterform
due to the everyday human perception of gravity. His adjusted
while simultaneously considering the overall system. In the
system takes into account the human experience rather than
case of Univers, this sophisticated approach to type-family
a purely geometric typeface, allowing for a more natural,
design is supported by a well-considered set of typographical
readable typeface. It is no coincidence that Frutiger’s interest
characters. Inspired by his study of the limitations of existing
in creating a functional and efficient type family followed
sans serifs, Frutiger began with the assumption that “a purely
well-documented scientific research done in the 1930s and
geometric character is unacceptable in the long run...” By
‘40s on the mechanics of eye movement during reading. His
overlapping a lowercase ‘u’ and an inverted ‘n’ of the same
adjustments to the purely geometric were specifically designed
point size, variation in stroke thickness becomes apparent.
to increase legitibility by correcting the other san serifs of the time.
This decision by Frutiger ensures that the U is not too heavy on the bottom, since widths on the bottom of a letter naturally
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Letters primarily consist of form and counterform, or the 55 roman
space that the letter occupies, and the space around or in it that it does not. For the “O,� the counterform alone defines weight. The smaller the counterform, the heavier the letter.
Univers 85 Extra Black
perfect circle
“An ‘O’ represented by a perfect circle strikes us as shapeless and has a disturbing effect on the word as a whole.” — Frutiger
While Frutiger’s goal was to make letters that fit
were made, based on the current knowledge of the
together so flawlessly that the assemblage formed a
principles of perception. The c is smaller than the o
new satisfying gestalt, he also deemed it important
because in open letters the white space achieves greater
that individual letterforms remain distinct from one
penetration into the form, thereby appearing larger. The
another. “Built up from a geometric basis, the lines must
n is slightly larger than the u because white entering a
play freely,” Frutiger wrote, “so that the individuals find
letterform from the top appears more active than white
their own expression and join together in a cohesive
entering from the bottom. All of these innovations
structure in word, line, and page.” To maintain the
contributed to the overall harmony among letters,
integrity of each letterform, careful optical adjustments
allowing for a smooth line flow.
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Of these three counterforms in the uppercase ‘W,’
sacrificing its balance and sense of symmetry,
none are identical, and none are perfectly symmetrical
perhaps achieving Piet Mondrian’s “dynamic
isosceles triangles. Counterform 1 is wider than 2, and
equilibrium.”
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the bottom point is placed to the left of the center
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vertical line, where as in counterform 2 and 3, the point is to the right. Counterform 3 is taller and wider than 1 and 2, and 1 is wider than 2, but 1 and 2 have the same height. This deliberate deviation from the perfect symmetrical proportion renders the uppercase ‘W’ heavier on the left, and lighter on the right, helping the
The widths of the upper and lower
reader move naturally from left to right. Frutiger’s skill
terminals of the ‘W’ are not determined
here allows him to give the form movement without
geometrically but optically.
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3.223
symmetrical weights and counterforms
univers
deviation from perfect symmetry
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“Geometry can produce legible letters, but art alone makes them beautiful. Art begins where geometry ends, and imparts to letters a character transcending mere measurement.”
—Paul Standard
O - Futura, even though it a perfect circle, is slightly
A - Apices differ in height relative to cap height, and Futura’s comes to a point.
elongated vertically.
j - differ in the tail shape
S - Finials differ between horizontal, vertical, and
t - differ in the crossbar and upper finial shape
angled.
g - differ in tail shape
is the closest of the three to
univers
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Univers was created and released as a contemporary to many sans serif typefaces,
gill sans
futura
univers - 55 roman
including Futura and Gill Sans. These faces differ from Univers in many ways. Futura and Gill Sans both move away from the
gill sans - regular
totally purified adherance to geometric consistensies and towards an optically adjusted visual coherance and flow, but do so in different ways and to different extents.
futura - medium
univers
univers
gill sans
gill sans
futura
futura
univers
univers
gill sans
futura
futura
gill sans
univers
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futura
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Individually finessed for overall cohesion.
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univers
futura
Frutiger’s sensitivity to the subtlest
understandings of perception. He charged
differences in form allowed him to create
himself with the task of adjusting small
a comprehensive system that retains
details in each singlular letterform so that
a sense of visual unity. He made many
when the letters came together to form
precise decisions to create a sense of
words, sentences and blocks of text, the
overall visual unity based on scientific
individual letters truly held together.
gill sans
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
This book was designed by Blake Rutledge while studying at Washington University in St. Louis under the direction of Prof.’s Birdsall and Franklin in Typography I in the Communication Design major studio. This was the final project for the class. Printed on copy paper, and accordian bound.