Univers Font Family: A Classic Sans Serif for All Purposes
Univers is a sans serif typeface designed by Adrian Frutiger in 1954. It is one of the most popular and versatile fonts of the 20th century, used for everything from corporate logos to road signs. Univers is known for its clear and neutral appearance, its large family of weights and widths, and its pioneering use of a numerical classification system.
In this article, we will explore the history and features of Univers, as well as some of the best places to download it for free or purchase it legally.
The History of Univers
Univers was born out of Frutiger's desire to create a modern and harmonious sans serif family that could compete with the success of Helvetica and Akzidenz Grotesk. He was inspired by the work of Paul Renner, the designer of Futura, who advocated for a rational and geometric approach to type design. Frutiger also wanted to avoid the stylistic inconsistencies and optical distortions that plagued some of the earlier sans serif fonts.
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Frutiger began working on Univers in 1954, while he was employed at the Deberny & Peignot type foundry in Paris. He spent three years refining and expanding the family, which eventually consisted of 21 fonts in four widths and five weights, plus obliques. Each font was assigned a two-digit number that indicated its weight and width, making it easy to identify and combine them. For example, Univers 55 was the regular weight and width, while Univers 67 was the bold condensed width.
Univers was released in 1957, and quickly gained popularity among graphic designers and typographers. It was praised for its clarity, legibility, and elegance, as well as its versatility and adaptability to different media and contexts. Univers was widely used for corporate identities, such as those of Lufthansa, Deutsche Bank, IBM, and NASA. It was also adopted for signage systems, such as those of the Paris Metro, the Montreal Metro, and the Swiss Federal Railways.
The Features of Univers
Univers is characterized by its uniform and consistent stroke width, its horizontal terminals, and its slightly curved tails. It has a high x-height and a relatively low contrast between thick and thin strokes. It also has a large character set that covers many languages and scripts.
One of the distinctive features of Univers is its range of weights and widths, which allow for a variety of typographic expressions and hierarchies. The weights range from ultra light to extra black, while the widths range from ultra condensed to extended. The oblique fonts have a 12-degree slant that adds dynamism and contrast to the upright fonts.
Another notable feature of Univers is its numerical classification system, which was innovative at the time of its release. Frutiger used a grid of 20 squares to assign each font a two-digit number that indicated its weight (from 3 to 8) and width (from 0 to 9). The first digit represented the weight, while the second digit represented the width. For example, Univers 39 was an ultra light extended font, while Univers 85 was an extra black normal font. The oblique fonts had an additional suffix of \"3\" after the number. For example, Univers 53 was the oblique version of Univers 55.
The numerical system made it easy to compare and combine different fonts within the family, as well as to identify them by their number. It also influenced other type designers who adopted similar systems for their own fonts, such as Frutiger himself with his later typefaces Avenir and Frutiger.
The Best Places to Download or Buy Univers
Univers is a classic font that deserves a place in any designer's toolbox. However, finding a reliable and legal source for downloading or buying it can be tricky. Here are some of the best options we found:
MyFonts: This is one of the most reputable online font shops that offers a wide selection of fonts from various foundries. You can buy individual fonts or packages of Univers from Linotype, the official licensor of Frutiger's fonts. The 0efd9a6b88
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