History
Despite the various changes, the “Neue Frutiger” still fits perfectly with Frutiger …
» Highlights
During planning for the new Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris at the beginning of the 1970s, it was determined that the airport’s signage system had to include the clearest and most legible lettering possible. The development of all signage was put into the hands of Adrian Frutiger and his studio. The team carried out their task so effectively that a huge demand for their typeface soon arose from customers who wanted to employ it in other signage systems, and in printed materials as well. The Frutiger typeface not only established new standards for signage, but also for a range of other areas in which a clear and legible design would be required, especially for small point sizes and bread-and-butter type. The typeface family that which emerged as a result of this demand was added into the Linotype library as “Frutiger” in 1977.
Neue Frutiger
Frutiger Next, created in 1999, is a further development of Frutiger, not necessarily a rethinking of the design itself. It was based on a new concept, the most obvious visual characteristics of which is the larger x-height, as well as a more pronounced ascender height and descender depth for lower case letters in relation to capitals. This new design created a balanced image and included considerably narrower letterspacing. Frutiger Next meets the demand for a space-saving, modern humanist sans.
2009’s Neue Frutiger of 2009 is a version of the 1977 Frutiger typeface family which has been revised and improved by Akira Kobayashi in close collaboration with Adrian Frutiger. Despite the various changes, the ‘New Frutiger’ still fits perfectly with Frutiger and serves to harmoniously enhance the styles already in existence.
More font styles increase the scope of application. In particular, Neue Frutiger offers 10 finely-graded styles, ensuring the perfect thickness.
Arrows in the right weight for every style
Adrian Frutiger himself was responsible for drafting the templates for all of Neue Frutiger’s arrows.
Neue Frutiger arrows
Matching arrows exist for each of the ten weights »
Neue Frutiger Italic Ultra Light
Handwritten letter to Akira Kobayashi from Frutiger:
„Ich darf Dir sagen dass ich Dich als Meister der Typografie ansehe, und vergleichen möchte mit einem Geigen-Bauer (wie ein Stradivarius), welcher so lange am Tonkasten gefeilt hat, bis sein Klang wunderbar ist. In dem Sinn darf ich Dir sagen, dass Du ein grosser Meister geworden bist!”