The Rotis® Sans Serif family is arguably the most ubiquitous and prominent branch of the Rotis superfamily. Designed to work alongside the Rotis Serif, the Rotis Semi Serif and the Rotis Semi Sans font families, the Rotis Sans Serif design has come to define many aspects of European commercial design.
Frustrated with the conservative mentality of many typographers who were determined to draw a clearly defined line between serif and sans serif typefaces, Otl Aicher, an iconoclast of German graphic design during much of the 20th century, set out to develop a typeface that would challenge those traditionalists assumptions. He sought to create transitional elements within a large font family that would blend serif and sans serif designs.
The result was the Rotis superfamily. The standout amongst this superfamily of four was the Rotis Sans Serif design. Its controlled transitions and high legibility quickly earned it a place in logotype designs across Europe, while making it a go-to for body text as well. In Germany especially, it is almost impossible to encounter any media that does not contain the Rotis Sans Serif design.
Otl Aicher continued to work at the studio where Rotis was created until his untimely death in 1991. Since that time, Monotype Imaging has purchased and reissued the Rotis super family.
Rotis Sans Serif
Rotis Sans Serif in Loreal's PackagingThe Rotis Sans Serif design is used in the branding elements and descriptive text for many international beauty brands such as L'Oreal®. It is prominent in advertising, street signage and in a variety of publishing across Europe. Finnish technology giant Nokia was using Rotis Sans Serif primarily until very recently, when they began using their own custom sans typeface.