Futura (typeface)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Typeface | Futura |
|---|---|
| Category | Sans-serif |
| Classifications | Geometric Sans-Serif |
| Designer(s) | Paul Renner |
| Foundry | Bauer Type Foundry Neufville Digital |
| Date released | 1927 |
Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed in 1927 by Paul Renner. Although Renner was not associated with the Bauhaus, he shared many of its idioms and believed that a modern typeface should express modern models, rather than be a revival of a previous design. Renner's initial design included several geometrically constructed alternative characters and ranging (old style) figures which can be found in the typeface Architype Renner. Futura was commissioned by the Bauer type foundry.
Futura has an appearance of efficiency and forwardness. The typeface is derived from simple geometric forms (near-perfect circles, triangles and squares) and is based on strokes of near-even weight, which are low in contrast. (This is most visible in the almost perfectly round stroke of the o, but the shape is actually slightly ovoid.) In designing Futura, Renner avoided the decorative, eliminating non-essential elements. The lowercase has tall ascenders, which rise above the cap line. The uppercase characters present proportions similar to those of classical roman capitals.
Contents |
[edit] Influence on other typefaces
The success of Futura coincided with the creation of many new geometric sans-serif faces by competing foundries including Kabel, Metro, Vogue, Erbar and Spartan, Twentieth Century, and Century Gothic among others. Some were near identical copies as in Spartan and Vogue, but others, were uniquely different including Nobel and Kabel.
Typeface designer Adrian Frutiger acknowledges Futura as one of his inspirations for his 1988 typeface Avenir. More recently Futura has been the basis of Ikea Sans and Opel Sans, fonts designed (for Ikea and Opel, respectively) by Robin Nicholas.[1]
[edit] Usage
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (June 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Futura's success spawned a range of new geometric sans-serif typefaces from competing foundries, and remains one of the most used sans-serif types into the twenty-first century. It is used prominently in the graphic identity of Volkswagen and Union Pacific. The former Swiss airline Swissair also used Futura from the 1950s to the 1990s. Boeing commercial Airplanes almost exclusively use a variation of Futura (medium, LtBt, Demi) in their flightdeck labeling for both information decals and instrumentation. Futura remains an important typeface family and is used on a daily basis for print and digital purposes as both a headline and body font. Filmmaker Wes Anderson uses Futura extensively in his films, as did Stanley Kubrick. Futura was used on the commemorative plaque left on Earth's moon by Apollo 11 astronauts in July 1969 (see photo at right). American conceptual artist Barbara Kruger uses the typeface in much of her language based artwork.
The revival of the BBC series, Doctor Who uses Futura for its credits, as did the original series during the early 1970s.
In Italy, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana and Ferrovie dello Stato use Futura as their corporate fonts.
Wes Anderson's films The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and The Darjeeling Limited use Futura in the title sequences and within the films themselves.
The Sci Fi Channel uses a variation on the font family for its on-air and print branding.
The Illinois Institute of Technology uses the font for its publicity campaign.
It is a corporate branding font for Hewlett-Packard, which has also been used in product packages and manuals since 2004.
The font has also been used extensively in the fashion industry, as the logo typeface for companies such as French fashion conglomerate Louis Vuitton and British Luxury department store Harvey Nichols.
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- Jaspert, Berry and Johnson. Encyclopaedia of Type Faces. Cassell Paperback, London; 2001. ISBN 1-84188-139-2
- Lawson, Alexander S., Anatomy of a Typeface. Godine: 1990. ISBN 978-0879233334.
- Meggs, Philip. B and McKelvey, Roy. Revival of the Fittest: Digital Versions of Classic Typefaces. RC Publications; 2002. ISBN 1-883915-08-2
- Haley, Allen. Type: Hot Designers Make Cool Fonts. Rockport Publishers Inc, Gloucester; 1998. ISBN 1-56496-317-9
