AFAdria

n Fr

uti g

er

By: E

rin Hover

Unterseen, Switzerland: birthplace of Adrian Frutiger on

March 24, 1928. Born as the son of a weaver, Adri-

an would help his father with the craft, and as a result

noticed the way graphic techniques were grounded

in the crafts. Specifically, he became concerned

with the shapes of letters in the way they were

scratched, incised, written or cut in metal (Carter,

163). At a young age he began to show an inter-

est in painting and sculpture, but at the sugges-

tion of his teachers, he was encouraged to use

his typographic talents in the printing industry.

Soon after, in 1944, he began and apprentice-

ship that lasted four years with the firm Otto

Schaeffli in Interlaken. While apprenticing,

Adrian was also attending school at the Zurich

school of arts and crafts. For a school project he

produced a synopsis of the development of the

western alphabet, with the specimen scripts cut

in the side grain of planks of wood (Carter, 163).

The result won him a prize from the ministry of the

interior, and he even had an addition printed from

the wood. Even more impressive at this young age,

he had begun working on a type face at the Zurich

school, that would later become known as Univers.

Although Adrian was born and educated in Swit-

zerland, he spent most of his life living and

working in France. Charles Peignot (of Deberny &

Peignot) had begun focusing his attention to making

faces for the Lumitype, which was a phototypesetter

designed especially for type setting. This meant

that he was focusing on a much larger market than

ever before, and with that knowledge he turned to

Adrian Frutiger.

AdrianFu t i ger

Soon after moving to Paris

in 1952, Adrian produced

three faces for Deberny and

Peignot: President (1953), a

shadowed sloped roman,

Phoebus (1953) and a

calligraphic script, On-

dine (1954)(Carter,165).

After these typefaces

were completed he be-

gan to work on adap-

tations of Garamond,

Baskerville, Bodoni, etc

for the Lumitype. After

mastering the Lumitype,

he moved on to creating

his own face for the type-

setter, Meridien (1955). It

had a sharp, yet classical feel

to it and a very curiously ser-

iffed y which appears through-

out his various typefaces (Carter, 165).

Eventually, it was decided to add a

sans serif font to the Lumitype range.

Adrian was able to persuade Peignot to allow him

to develop a design he had been working on at the Zurich

school rather than altering an existing type. In 1957, Univers appeared

in both film and foundry metal for hand setting. It delivered an integrated family that took a basic

desire for a modern lightly stressed sans serif, and produced a comprehensive range of 21 variants

(Blackwell, 148). It was also presented with reference numbers rather than using terms such as “extra

bold” to identify width and height. Although the new reference system did not catch on with print-

ers, it was innovative in that it kept with the grid theory it was intended; the relationship of weights

and perspective sheets was shown through the specimen sheet through a grid display (Blackwell,

148). The type itself, however, was a success. Excess detailing and decoration had all been eliminated

and only the essential forms of the letters remained. Univers was known as one of the most rational

and basic post-war sans serifs (Carter, 165).

The great stroke of

luck in my life is to

have been blessed

first with an artistic

feeling for shapes,

and second with an

easy grasp of techni-

cal processes and of

mathematics.

“ “

Unterseen, Switzerland: birthplace of Adrian Frutiger on

March 24, 1928. Born as the son of a weaver, Adri-

an would help his father with the craft, and as a result

noticed the way graphic techniques were grounded

in the crafts. Specifically, he became concerned

with the shapes of letters in the way they were

scratched, incised, written or cut in metal (Carter,

163). At a young age he began to show an inter-

est in painting and sculpture, but at the sugges-

tion of his teachers, he was encouraged to use

his typographic talents in the printing industry.

Soon after, in 1944, he began and apprentice-

ship that lasted four years with the firm Otto

Schaeffli in Interlaken. While apprenticing,

Adrian was also attending school at the Zurich

school of arts and crafts. For a school project he

produced a synopsis of the development of the

western alphabet, with the specimen scripts cut

in the side grain of planks of wood (Carter, 163).

The result won him a prize from the ministry of the

interior, and he even had an addition printed from

the wood. Even more impressive at this young age,

he had begun working on a type face at the Zurich

school, that would later become known as Univers.

Although Adrian was born and educated in Swit-

zerland, he spent most of his life living and

working in France. Charles Peignot (of Deberny &

Peignot) had begun focusing his attention to making

faces for the Lumitype, which was a phototypesetter

designed especially for type setting. This meant

that he was focusing on a much larger market than

ever before, and with that knowledge he turned to

Adrian Frutiger.

Soon after moving to Paris

in 1952, Adrian produced

three faces for Deberny and

Peignot: President (1953), a

shadowed sloped roman,

Phoebus (1953) and a

calligraphic script, On-

dine (1954)(Carter,165).

After these typefaces

were completed he be-

gan to work on adap-

tations of Garamond,

Baskerville, Bodoni, etc

for the Lumitype. After

mastering the Lumitype,

he moved on to creating

his own face for the type-

setter, Meridien (1955). It

had a sharp, yet classical feel

to it and a very curiously ser-

iffed y which appears through-

out his various typefaces (Carter, 165).

Eventually, it was decided to add a

sans serif font to the Lumitype range.

Adrian was able to persuade Peignot to allow him

to develop a design he had been working on at the Zurich

school rather than altering an existing type. In 1957, Univers appeared

in both film and foundry metal for hand setting. It delivered an integrated family that took a basic

desire for a modern lightly stressed sans serif, and produced a comprehensive range of 21 variants

(Blackwell, 148). It was also presented with reference numbers rather than using terms such as “extra

bold” to identify width and height. Although the new reference system did not catch on with print-

ers, it was innovative in that it kept with the grid theory it was intended; the relationship of weights

and perspective sheets was shown through the specimen sheet through a grid display (Blackwell,

148). The type itself, however, was a success. Excess detailing and decoration had all been eliminated

and only the essential forms of the letters remained. Univers was known as one of the most rational

and basic post-war sans serifs (Carter, 165).

AAfter the success of Univers, Adrian received many commissions in-

cluding a modified version of the face for the signs at Orly airport

in Paris. He also designed the face Opera in 1959 for the Sofatype ma-

chine and in 1960 he completed Egyptienne for Deberny & Peignot.

At the same time he was working on books and lettering jobs, which

consisted mostly of scientific publications. Oddly enough, he also pro-

duced a beautiful set of abstract woodcut illustrations to the book of

Genesis in 1962. That same year he started his own studio with Bruno

Pfaffli and André Gürtler. Over the next few years Adrian worked on a

number of faces including Apollo, Serifa, OCR-B, and Iridium.

While working on the face Iridium, Adrian was also working on

a commission to develop a directional signage system for the

new Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Because of the specific legibility

requirements for airport signage, Adrian decided to create a new sans

serif typeface. It would be easily recognizable from various distances

and angles, whether driving or walking. The end result corresponded

with the modern architecture of the airport in the way it mimicked

the curves of the terminal (Jong, 297). Although the project was code

named Roissy, after the village where the airport was built, it later

changed its name to that of it’s creator when it was adapted by Lino-

type. The complete Frutiger family, finished in 1976, is neither geomet-

ric nor humanistic in its form, but was designed so that each charac-

ter could be recognized quickly and easily (Jong, 297). Frutiger is also

known to be a descendent of Adrian’s previous typeface, Univers. Its

basic forms are much the same, however, it is a much more “open” face.

The c and e barely begin to close while the j and g do not completely

hook around. Adrian looked to Roman inscriptional

capitals for the uppercase letters and as a re-

sult the ascenders and descenders are

longer (Blackwell, 175). Because it

could be read with such ease, the

font was ideal for signage and

display work. Although the

typeface, Frutiger, was orig-

inally conceived for large-

scale signage, like that of

the Charles de Gaulle Air-

port, it has a warmth and

delicacy that was able to

make it usable for small

scale body text in maga-

zines and books.

FrutigerABCDFGHIJLK

NOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghjlknopqrst vwxyz1234567890

After the success of Univers, Adrian received many commissions in-

cluding a modified version of the face for the signs at Orly airport

in Paris. He also designed the face Opera in 1959 for the Sofatype ma-

chine and in 1960 he completed Egyptienne for Deberny & Peignot.

At the same time he was working on books and lettering jobs, which

consisted mostly of scientific publications. Oddly enough, he also pro-

duced a beautiful set of abstract woodcut illustrations to the book of

Genesis in 1962. That same year he started his own studio with Bruno

Pfaffli and André Gürtler. Over the next few years Adrian worked on a

number of faces including Apollo, Serifa, OCR-B, and Iridium.

While working on the face Iridium, Adrian was also working on

a commission to develop a directional signage system for the

new Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Because of the specific legibility

requirements for airport signage, Adrian decided to create a new sans

serif typeface. It would be easily recognizable from various distances

and angles, whether driving or walking. The end result corresponded

with the modern architecture of the airport in the way it mimicked

the curves of the terminal (Jong, 297). Although the project was code

named Roissy, after the village where the airport was built, it later

changed its name to that of it’s creator when it was adapted by Lino-

type. The complete Frutiger family, finished in 1976, is neither geomet-

ric nor humanistic in its form, but was designed so that each charac-

ter could be recognized quickly and easily (Jong, 297). Frutiger is also

known to be a descendent of Adrian’s previous typeface, Univers. Its

basic forms are much the same, however, it is a much more “open” face.

The c and e barely begin to close while the j and g do not completely

hook around. Adrian looked to Roman inscriptional

capitals for the uppercase letters and as a re-

sult the ascenders and descenders are

longer (Blackwell, 175). Because it

could be read with such ease, the

font was ideal for signage and

display work. Although the

typeface, Frutiger, was orig-

inally conceived for large-

scale signage, like that of

the Charles de Gaulle Air-

port, it has a warmth and

delicacy that was able to

make it usable for small

scale body text in maga-

zines and books.

Because of the huge success

over Frutiger, the typeface

has been able to be revised and

updated over the years. In 2001,

Adrian, with Linotype, designed

the type to include true italics

among other features. The goal

was to create a complete system

with 18 different weights. These new

additions to the family have become

known as Frutiger Next. More recently,

in 2003, Frutiger was redesigned for use

on highway signage in Switzerland, and is

known as ASTRA-Frutiger (Typophile.com).

Adrian produced a variety of typefaces throughout the 1980s including Icone, Versaille

and Breughel which range from sans serifs to calligraphic like fonts with a chunky serif. In

1986, Adrian designed the modern Linotype Centennial and two years later a peculiarly

restrained sans serif, Avenir. This face combined the popular Futura and Gill Sans forms.

Adrian Frutiger was not only a typographer, but a teacher and consultant as well. He

served a consultant for IBM and the Stempel type foundry and he taught typography

and illustration for ten years at the Ecole Estienne and eight years at the Ecole Nationale

Superieure des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. Adrian Frutiger was one oft he most talented ty-

pographers of his generation and he produced many masterpieces throughout his lifetime.

Because of his achievements, he has received several awards and honors including 1986,

the Gutenberg Prize of the City of Mainz (Germany); 1987, Medal of the Type Directors

Club of New York; 1993, Officier de lÕOrdre des Arts et des Lettres (Paris); 1993, Grand Prix

National des Arts Graphiques (France)(Identifont.com).

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.

From all these

experiences the most

important thing I learned was

that legibility and beauty stand close

together and that type design, in its restraint,

should be only felt but not perceived by the reader.“

“

“

“

AvenirABCDFGHJLKNOPQRS

TUVWXYZ abcde ghjlknopqrstvwxyz

1234567890

Frutiger’s

Typefaces

Président

Delta

Phoebus

Element-Grotesk

Federduktus

Ondine

Méridien

Caractères Lumitype

Univers

Egyptienne F

Opéra

Alphabet Orly

Apollo

Alphabet Entreprise

Francis Bouygues

Concorde

Serifen-Grotesk/

Gespannte Grotesk

Alphabet Algol

Serifa

OCRUnivers IBM

Composer

Alphabet EDF-GDF

Katalog

Devanagari/Tamil

Alpha BP

Documenta

Alphabet Facom

Alphabet Roissy

Alphabet Brancher

Iridium

Alphabet Métro

Alphabet Centre

Georges Pompidou

Frutiger

Glypha

Icone

Breughel

Dolmen

Tiemann

Versailles

Linotype

Centennial

Avenir

Westside

Vectora

Linotype Didot

Herculanum

Shiseido

Frutiger Capitalis

Pompeijana

Rusticana

Frutiger Stones/

Frutiger Symbols

Frutiger Neonscript

Nami

Works Cited

Blackwell, Lewis. Twentieth Century Type.

New York: Rizzoli, 1992. Print.

Carter, Sebastian. Twentieth Century Type

Designers. Aldershot, Hampshire: Lund

Humphries, 2002. Print.

Identifont - Identify fonts by appearance, find

fonts by name. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. <http://

www.identifont.com>.

Jong, Cees W. De, Alston W. Purvis, and

Friedrich Friedl. Creative Type A Sourcebook

of Classical and Contemporary Letterforms.

London: Thames & Hudson, 2005. Print.

Typographic Collaboration | Typophile. Web.

17 Nov. 2009. <http://www.typophile.com>.

Avenir

Westside

Vectora

Linotype Didot

Herculanum

Shiseido

Frutiger Capitalis

Pompeijana

Rusticana

Frutiger Stones/

Frutiger Symbols

Frutiger Neonscript

Nami

UniversABCDFGHIJLK

NOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghjlknopqrst

vwxyz1234567890