Based on an original design by Adrian Frutiger, the Neue Frutiger® font family is the result of collaboration between the original designer and Akira Kobayashi, the Type Director at Linotype Library GmbH. The revised design incorporates additional weights, higher legibility and improved spacing.
In the early 1970s, the authorities in charge of the construction of Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris were on the lookout for a clear, legible typeface to use in the airport’s signage. Adrian Frutiger, famed typographer and creator of the Univers® font family, was hired by the team overseeing de Gaulle to undertake the development of a wholly new typeface to suit their needs.
Completed in 1975, the Frutiger® font family quickly became a standard for signage throughout Europe. It was licensed and released to the public by the Stempel type foundry in partnership with Linotype one year later. It has gone on to become the fifth most successful typeface in the history of Linotype.
In 2009, Adrian Frutiger partnered with another typography legend, Akira Kobayashi to expand and revise the original Frutiger. Ten additional weights were added to the original set of ten. They also focused on increasing legibility at smaller sizes.
The bowls of the lowercase b, d, and p are slightly rounder than the original Frutiger. The Ns, Ms, and Ys were all thinned out to a degree from the 1977 version. The technological spacing issues apparent in the original Frutiger have been resolved in the new iteration.
Despite the enhancements and added weights, the Neue Frutiger design still works in symphony with the original typeface.
Neue Frutiger
Marc Jacobs employs Neue Frutiger for his logoWith the additional weights and increased legibility, the Neue Frutiger design lends itself to a wide range of usages. Like its predecessor, Neue Frutiger is excellent for signage. The legibility of the smaller sizes makes it more applicable to print and publication uses.
It is used today by organizations as diverse as the British Royal Navy, the Canadian Broadcasting Company, and Brazil’s Banco Bradesco.