The Hitchhiker’s Guide to
UNIVERS
an exploration of Adrian Frutiger’s font:
Univers
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Typographer at the end of the Univers: Adrian Frutiger ....................................................................... 5 Fonts and Books ................................................................................... 6
Life, the Univers, and Everything: Font Family ............................................................................................................ 11 Swiss Style .............................................................................................................. 12 weights ................................................................................................................ 13 History .......................................................................................................... 14 Identifying Characteristics ............................................. 15
Mostly Harmless: Practical applicAtion ............... 17
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The Typographer
at the end of the
Univers
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Adrian frutiger Born in 1928 and raised in the land known for its skiing and neutrality Switzerland. Adrian Frutiger became an author, graphic designer, and renown typographer. Adrian started to experiment with type in his teenage years - a rather good choice considering what things usually get experimented with at that age. Despite the strict school system, he began to transform his penmanship by manually altering the nibs on his pens. Pursuing his interests in nib destruction, Frutiger worked as a printer’s apprentice at the age of 16. After his primary and secondary education he went to school at the Zurich School of Arts and Crafts.
Frutiger once stated his love for the strong contrast between black and white. He believes that the figure/ground relationship was crucial to the development of a font. He said,“The contrast conveys the absolute construction of an image. Taking black away means adding white. In this way, the space between an R and S becomes like a sculpture for me.” His love of type and unique perspective are likely why he’s so darn good at what he does.
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Frutiger’s Fonts. 1952
1975
1953
1975
1954
1979
1955
1980
1956
1982
1956
1982
1957
1988
1967
1990
1968
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Frutiger’s books. Type, Sign, Symbol (1980) Signs and Symbols: Their Design and Meaning (1989) The International Type Book (1990) Geometry of Feelings (1998) The Development of Western Type Carved in Wood Plates (1999) Forms and Counterforms (1999) Life Cycle (1999) The Univers (1999) Symbols and Signs: Explorations (1999)
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Life,
the
Univers
And
Everything.
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“Lets start with the original. Akzidenz-Grotesk. Akzidenz-Grotesk was first released in 1898 under the name Accidenz-Grotesk. Grotesk actually means early sans-serif, and it was the first sans-serif font to be widely used.� - Fred Design
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ne
ote o - gr
sq ue
f on t
s
folio
un i v
er s
nze d i Akz esk t Gro
tic a helve
It’s all in the family. Univers is a part of a font family called neo-grotesque sans-serifs. His brothers and sisters, including Folio and Neue Haas Grotesk (later renamed Helvetica) were all released in 1957. They were all based on the 1898 typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk - the Darth Vader to our Luke Skywalker, if you will. These three typefaces are a big deal in the Swiss International Style of graphic design and are regularly mistaken for one another.
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keep it clean. Swiss International Style was developed in the 1950s, right alongside the Cold War and Elvis Presley. Coming out of Switzerland, the style is characterized by its clarity, legibility, and objectivity. You can identify the style by its asymmetrical layouts, grids, sans serif typefaces, and flush left, rag right text.
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Something unique to Frutiger was his use of numbers to name typefaces within a font. Adrian first used this for Univers and then used it on his other fonts. Adrian - being the nifty, forward thinker that he was - wanted to create a new unity between the faces by using those numbers. Sadly, his effort to change the world was foiled when the font was released with typeface numbers and names.
weights.
39 45
46
47
48
49
53
55
56
57
58
59
63
65
66
67
68
73
75
76
93
While being a rather tightlaced Swiss sans serif, Univers has a little pizzaz in its slight stroke variation and curved feet. Univers 55 is typically defined as the base typeface within this font.
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handset type monotype photo type
how it’s made. Univers was made by Frutiger in 1954 and released in 1957 by Deberny & Peignot’s. Deberny & Peignot’s was the result of a mash up between two companies in 1923 – Derberny & Cie (founded in 1818) and Peignot & Fils (founded in 1842).
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Univers was the first font to be made in 3 mediums at the same time: handset type, monotype mechanical type, and photo type. Univers was the ultimate font because it was available in every technological medium of the era and every printer could use it.
Identifying characteristics. Univers is a versatile but rigid font. One of the most interesting changes can be seen in the letters R and a – their feet switch between having a straight, squared leg and a curved, slightly calligraphic foot.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
KQG
The diagonal strokes of the K meet at a point.
The Q has a flat tail – parallel to the baseline. This is similar to Avenir, but most of Univers’ faces have squared ovals as the Q’s body rather than Avenir’s nearly perfect circle.
The G lacks the Helvetica spur.
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mostly
harmless
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Univers has been used for everything from corporate branding to consumer electronic devices. Even the ever-worshipped Apple used Univers on its laptop keyboards until 2007. Univers is known for its clarity and legibility, so it only makes sense to use it on signs. It is used with Frutiger in the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, in Frankfurt’s International Airport, and the Montreal Metro System. Last but not least, any of your English friends have likely seen Univers on their tests and exams in the UK – it was chosen because of its distinctions between things like I and 1.
exam
Frankfurt international airport
B.ar.t. system
apple keyboard
Practical Application
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giving credit where credit is due content sources
image sources
freddesign.co.uk
amazon.ca
rightreading.com
harrimantravelbooks.com
smearedblackink.com sorayakramer.carbonmade.com
letterpresscommons.com picasaweb.google.com tjworld.net
typophile.com Wiki: Univers
torontosun.com ultimatefbcovers.com urbanlifesigns.blogspot.ca wallpaperworld.com Wiki: Metal Movable Type
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so long, and thanks for all the fish 19
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Š Kirstie Seier 2013