Adrian Frutiger (May 24, 1928–Present)





Frutiger is probably one of the well-known type designer of the 20th century. He designed fonts that are still widely used today; his most popular fonts are Frutiger and Univers.



Frutiger designed Univers in 1957. Univers is a sans-serif font. It was published at the same time as Folio and Helvetica. All three typefaces was recognized as the other, but what easily set Univers apart was the different weight and variations within its own family. Instead of naming the family members “Univers Condensed” or “Univers Extended,” Frutiger numbered them (though we still identify the family with names). He wanted a large family, perhaps that was reason behind the numberings.



Today, the Univers type family has 44 faces, with 16 different weights, width, and position combinations. 20 fonts are Italicized (oblique). Frutiger developed an interrelated typeface system that called “Univers grid.” A Univers grid show s how the family's is organized and named: how fat or thin they are (width/condensed/extended), their boldness (well, bold or not), and posture (regular or oblique).




Fun fact:
Univers is a big family, indeed, yet they all have the same size feet.
(I mean the “@” mark has a consistent width.)





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Frutiger
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Univers
http://www.identifont.com/show?110
http://www.typotheque.com

John Baskerville (January 28, 1706–January 8, 1775)

John Baskerville was an English type designer and printer in England—one of the leading printers and type designer in the 18th century. He designed a typeface named after himself in 1757—a modified version of the old style typefaces of William Caslon. It was an improvement because his fonts provided a transition between the thick and thin strokes of the letters. His font is more vertical and the serifs sharper.





Because of his printing knowledge, he modified to typeface to suit the printing needs and also, at the same time, improved the legibility of the text. While he designed his own typeface, Baskerville also experimented on paper and ink, and in 1763, he published a folio Bible using all three of his new creations—his font, paper, and ink (woven paper; ink was blacker, even distribution, quick-drying). It was his master work. However, it didn't come easy. Baskerville lost a lot of money in this printing ventures and even asked for financial assistance from the government while he perfected the folio Bible.

His publications did improve legibility, but some claimed they “damaged” their eyes by the high contrast. (His printing competitors perhaps.) But his work was noticed from across the ocean. Bodoni (who designed a modern typeface—Bodoni) was inspired by Baskerville.





Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Baskerville
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baskerville
http://www.myfonts.com/person/baskerville/john/
http://ilovetypography.com/2007/09/23/baskerville-john/

Paul Rand
(August 15, 1914–November 26, 1996)


Paul Rand was an American graphic designer who was born in 1914 in Brooklyn, New York. His father never thought art would bring food to the table, and he was right at one point. Rand worked for free so to have full creative freedom when he designed the covers of Direction magazine. An exceptional artist, he was recognized right away for his work. At age 23, he was the art director for Esquire-Coronet magazine.

Rand was notable famous for his corporate logos. Some of them are still used now. He designed IBM, ABC, Westinghouse, and UPS (the new logo is just a newer version of Rand's logo). When he designed ABC's logo in 1962, Rand mentioned that a logo “cannot survive unless it is designed with the utmost simplicity and restraint.” He was right. The logo survived till 2006 and is now used as a secondary logo on printed material (the current one was adapted to fit modern trends by the help of new technology).

Rand was unique because he had a theory where other designers at the time did not explore—making familiar things strange. He had a great sense of design and was able to create something so boring lively, like a packaging for Westinghouse's light bulbs.

He died in 1996 of cancer. He was 82 and had a successful career. He taught at Yale University and passed on his design thoughts, and in 1972, Rand was included in the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame.





(ABC's new logo)




Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rand
http://www.logodesignlove.com/all-about-paul-rand

Blog for my Type class

So I set this blog for Visc 202 - Typography.
Hopefully, by September 25, 2008, I will have my 3 essays uploaded to this site.

The 3 essay questions:

1. Who is Paul Rand? (at least 200 words + at least 5 examples of his work)

2. Who is John Baskerville? What makes Baskerville unique? (at least 200 words)

3. Who is Adrian Frutiger? What makes Univers unique? What is the Univers grid?