Frutiger
by Adrian Frutiger · design · 1976
frutiger is a humanist sans-serif typeface commissioned in 1970/71 by charles de gaulle airport at roissy-en-france for wayfinding signage, released commercially in 1976. the typeface was based on concorde, a font frutiger had created in 1961-64 with andré gürtler for sofratype. frutiger adapted concorde using legibility research as a guide for the airport signage system.
visual reference
- Univers · Adrian Frutigernot yet generatedgenerate →
frutiger drew on his own univers (1957) as the rational, neo-grotesque foundation for the typeface, blending its clean structure with humanist proportions. the single-story 'g' and square dots came from univers, while the open apertures and wider forms came from organic research into legibility.
“Frutiger is an amalgamation of Univers tempered with organic influences of the Gill Sans, a humanist sans-serif typeface by Eric Gill, Edward Johnston's type for the London Transport, and Roger Excoffon's Antique Olive: like Univers it uses a single-story 'g', unlike the double of Gill Sans, and has square dots on the letters, but has a generally humanist design with wide apertures to increase legibility, decided on after legibility research.”
source ↗ - Gill Sans · Eric Gill
frutiger pulled the organic and proportional aspects from gill sans, a humanist sans-serif, as a counterweight to the rationality of univers. the goal was legibility through humanist warmth rather than strict geometric logic.
“Frutiger is an amalgamation of Univers tempered with organic influences of the Gill Sans, a humanist sans-serif typeface by Eric Gill, Edward Johnston's type for the London Transport, and Roger Excoffon's Antique Olive”
source ↗ - Johnston · Edward Johnstonnot yet generatedgenerate →
frutiger cited johnston's typeface for the london transport as one of the organic influences tempering univers. the humanist structure informed the wide apertures and legibility decisions.
“Frutiger is an amalgamation of Univers tempered with organic influences of the Gill Sans, a humanist sans-serif typeface by Eric Gill, Edward Johnston's type for the London Transport, and Roger Excoffon's Antique Olive”
source ↗ - Antique Olive · Roger Excoffonnot yet generatedgenerate →
frutiger drew on excoffon's antique olive as one of the organic influences that softened the rationality of univers. the blend produced the humanist warmth and wide apertures that defined frutiger's legibility.
“Frutiger is an amalgamation of Univers tempered with organic influences of the Gill Sans, a humanist sans-serif typeface by Eric Gill, Edward Johnston's type for the London Transport, and Roger Excoffon's Antique Olive”
source ↗ - Concorde · Adrian Frutigernot yet generatedgenerate →
frutiger adapted concorde (1961-64), an earlier sans-serif he designed for sofratype, as the direct structural basis for roissy. he refined it following legibility research for the charles de gaulle airport signage commission.
“Frutiger decided to adapt Concorde using legibility research as a guide, and titled the new design Roissy.”
source ↗
citations
- [01]
Wikidata · Frutiger· archive
“family name”