Univers

45 55 65 75 85 47 57 67 53 63 73 93 39 49 59

light light oblique roman roman oblique black black oblique bold bold oblique extra black extra black oblique light condensed light condensed oblique condensed condensed oblique bold condensed bold condensed oblique thin ultra condensed light ultra condensed ultra condensed extended extended oblique bold extended bold extended

oblique black extended black extended oblique extra black extended extra black extended oblique

THINK OF IT AS A SWISS DESIGN WITH A

AS ITS WEIGHT INCREASES, THIS PERSONALITY BECOMES MORE APPARENT.

THE SLIGHT (BUT CLEARLY VISIBLE) CONTRAST IN STROKE WEIGHT, SUBLTE ANGULARITY, AND JUST THE SMALLEST HINT OF A CALLIGRAPHIC BRUSH STROKE MAKE UNIVERS A TYPEFACE WITH

ALLAN HALEY

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff G Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Born out of modernist and constructivist ideals, the Swiss Style was developed during the 1950s. It placed emphasis on cleanliness and pursued simplicity, finding beauty in underlines of purpose. Typography and content of layouts took precedence over textures and illustrations. In 1954, the French type foundry Deberny & Peignot wanted to craft a linear sans serif typeface in several weights that could be used for a variety of objectives. Adrian Frutiger, the art director, suggested that instead of manipulating an existing typeface, they should create a whole new font suitable for longer texts. Imposing strict discipline across all elements of the series, Frutiger designed 21 versions of Univers (in five weights and five widths), and the family was released by the foundry, then produced by Linotype.

One unique aspect of the typeface is its classification system, using numbers. The first number (in Univers 55, for example) indicates weight, and the second indicates width and position.

Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm t Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

released in

designed by

Adrian Frutiger was born in 1928 in Switzerland. He worked as a printer’s apprentice by age 16, and later studied at the Zurich School of Arts and Crafts. Then he moved to Paris and began working at Deberny and Peignot, where he helped advance typography, design, and phototypesetting technologies. Throughout his career he has produced many books, and also typefaces, which along with Univers (released in 1957) include President, Frutiger, and Avenir.

Not only is it appropriate to use Univers in long texts, but it’s also appealing at a larger scale. In a world full of typefaces ranging from all kinds of elaborate styles, Univers may get overlooked, but it’s practical and still stylish. It’s interesting but still legible. It’s modern, sleek, and versatile.

Q

tail parallel to baseline

M h

crotch touches baseline

stroke thins at crotch

e t

curve ends parallel to baseline

top of stem is angled

R j

leg curves out of stem, not bowl

dotted by modular form

45 55 65 75 85 47 57 67 53 63 73 93 39 49 59

Tessa Canon KCAI Typography 1 Fall 2012