Futura-Type Specimen

䘀唀吀唀刀䄀 吀夀倀䔀䘀䄀䌀䔀 䄀一䄀䰀夀匀䤀匀

笀

䄀 挀漀洀瀀氀攀琀攀 猀琀甀搀礀 漀渀

䘀甀琀甀爀愀 吀礀瀀攀昀愀挀攀

䐀攀戀漀樀礀漀琀椀 䐀愀猀

笀

A Geometric Sans

Near perfect geometric shapes

Near perfect strokes

Balanced form

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 The vibe conveyed by Futura is defined by wods like efficiency, symmetry, and advancement.

Void of decoration and glamor Futura is a sans-serif typeface, which means that it is without serifs. In other words, it doesn’t have a stroke addition to the end of each letter form.

It was designed by Paul Renner in 1927.

Futura even though it was created in the late 20’s, it posses a surprisingly modern look which is why it continues to be used to this day. Sans serif fonts were first introduced in the 20’s, and futura is known for being one of the very first sans serif typefaces. When futura was first introduced people were impressed by its unique characteristics.

The man behind

FUTURA

P

aul Friedrich August Renner (August 9, 1878 - April 25, 1956) was a typeface designer, born in Wernigerode, Germany. In 1927 he designed the futura typeface, which became one of the most successful and most-used types of the 20th century, he also designed another typeface Century Gothic. He attempted to fuse the Gothic and the Roman typefaces.

He was a prominent member of the Deutscher Werkbund (German Work Federation). Two of his major texts are Typographie als Kunst (Typography as Art) and Die Kunst der Typographie (The Art of Typography). He created a new set of guidelines for good book design. The typeface Architype Renenr is based upon Renner’s early experimental explorations of geometric letterforms for the futura typeface, most of which were deleted from the face’s character set before it was issued.

All his designed typefaces are Architype Renner, Futura, Plak, Futura Black, Futura Light, Ballade and Renner Antiqua. Tasse, a 1994 typeface is a revival of Renner’s 1953 typeface Steila Futura. He also wrote many books which are Typographie als Kunst, Mechanisierte Grafik, Kulturbolschewismus, Die Kunst der Typographie, Das moderne Buch, Ordnung und Harmonie der Farben, Vom Geheimnis der Darstellung.

uppercase

1

lowercase

16

numbers

28

special characteristics

30

anatomy

33

1

A 2

Apex

Cap line

Cap height

Baseline

BP Apex

Cap line

Cap height

3

Baseline

C 4

Apex

Cap line

Cap height

Baseline

D

Apex

5

Cap line

Cap height

Baseline

E 6

Apex

Cap line

Cap height

Baseline

H Apex

Cap line

Cap height

7

Baseline

J 8

Apex

Cap line

Cap height

Baseline

L 9

Apex

Cap line

Cap height

Baseline

N Apex

Cap line

Cap height

10

Baseline

O Apex

Cap line

Cap height

11

Baseline

S 12

Apex

Cap line

Cap height

Baseline

U

Apex

13

Cap line

Cap height

Baseline

V 14

Apex

Cap line

Cap height

Baseline

XZ Apex

Cap line

Cap height

15

Baseline

Cap height

16

a

Ascender

Descender

17

x-Height

Baseline

bd Ascender

Descender

18

x-Height

Baseline

ce Ascender

Descender

19

x-Height

Baseline

f 20

Ascender

x-Height

Baseline

Descender

g

Ascender

Descender

21

x-Height

Baseline

h

Ascender

Descender

22

x-Height

Baseline

j 23

Ascender

x-Height

Baseline

Descender

k Ascender

Descender

24

x-Height

Baseline

n

Ascender

Descender

25

x-Height

Baseline

vy Ascender

Descender

26

x-Height

Baseline

x 27

Ascender

x-Height

Baseline

Descender

28

sharp joints

0123456789 The 1 has a flat top on flag, to distinguish it from the lowercase L, the ‘l’.

The terminal of the 1 is the only one that is not flat like the other numerals.

The 3 consists of two connected semi-circles.

The 4 is made of three strokes and is an uppercase design because the vertical stroke begins at the cap height and ends at the baseline. The second stroke is a diagonal that connects with the vertical and the third stroke is a horizontal positioned at approximately one-forth of the overall cap height, and its length is essential to the balance of the character.

The vertical of the 5 is actually a diagonal, and it is connected to a horizontal line. The sahpe of the bowl is fuller than the top portion of the character.

The 6 unlike in other fonts has a straight line which is the stroke ascending from the bowl.

The bottom bowl of the 8 is slightly larger than the top one.

The 9 is exactly a 6 upside down.

29

30

All letters have same stroke width/height

BDEFHIKLNPRT Every stem is a rectangle or a straight line

31

pointed apex

ascenders rise above the ascender line monoweight strokes

low crossbar

Futura Medium crossbars have an extended width

circular counterspace extends to the baseline

32

cut-off terminal

33

cap line

x-height

x s AK q bQn

arm

cap height

spine

baseline

leg

cross bar

line weight

counter

ascender

shoulder

descender

terminal

sans seriff

bowl

tail

34