The repetition of simple geometric shapes forms a daily part of our environment. Throughout the 20th century – and into the 21st – typefaces whose designs have taken advantage of this have remained popular. But finding exactly the right mood can be tricky. For your convenience, we have grouped some of our favorite geometric typefaces (mostly sans serif and symbol) into four categories: circles, squares, ovals, and triangles.
What are the thinnest hairline fonts available at Linotype.com, and what do they look like? We created an article in the Linotype Matrix to help show you!
In each issue of the Linotype Matrix, we include an article about typographic extremes. The first issue Matrix Vol. 4 No. 1 shined a spotlight on the “Fat Boys,” listing some of are most interesting fat-face types. Our newest issue Matrix Vol. 4 No. 3 examines condensed faces. Matrix Vol. 4 No. 2 had an article entitled
[...]Herb Lubalin (Herbert Frederick) – born 17. 3. 1918 in New York, USA, died 24. 5. 1981 in New York, USA – graphic designer, typographer, type designer, teacher.
1936–39: studies at the Cooper Union in New York. 1939: produces work for the world exhibition in New York. Art director for Deutsch & Shea Advertising (1941–42), Fairchild Publications (1942–43) and Reiss Advertising (1943–45). 1945: vice-president of Sudler & Hennesey Inc. in New York. 1964–69: founds Herb Lubalin Inc. in New York.
[...]Ed (Ephram Edward) Benguiat, born 27. 10. 1927 in New York, USA, type designer, calligrapher. Studied at Columbia University, New York and the Workshop School of Advertising Art, New York.
1953: associate director of "Esquire" magazine. Opens his own design studio in New York. 1962: joins Photo-Lettering Inc. as typographic design director, a position he still holds today. 1970: joins the International Typeface Corporation and is made vice-president; he works on the in-house magazine
[...]Tom Carnase – born 1939 – typographer, type designer, teacher, graphic designer.
1959: after completing his studies, Carnase joins the agency Sudler & Hennessey Inc. in New York. 1964–68: freelance designer. Opens the studio Bonder & Carnase Inc. (WTC). 1969–79: vice-president and partner of the agency Lubalin, Smith, Carnase Inc. 1979: opens the Carnase Computer Typography studio. 1980: co-founder and president of the World Typeface Center Inc., an independent type design agency.
[...]The designer Erich Gschwind created the font ITC Avant Garde Gothic® in 1977 (with André Gürtler and Christian Mengelt).
André Gürtler – born 5. 9. 1936 in Basle, Switzerland – graphic designer, typographer, type designer, teacher.
1952–56: trains as a typesetter. First exercises in calligraphy. 1957: further training as a typographical designer with Emil Ruder. First exercises in type design. 1958–59: letterer for the Monotype Corporation in Salfords, England. 1959–65: type designer and typographer with Adrian Frutiger in Paris. Works for Sofratype SA for two years. Teaches lettering for a year at the
[...]Designer Christian Mengelt (born 1938) created the font ITC Avant Garde Gothic® in 1977 (with André Gürtler and Erich Gschwind).
The ITC Avant Garde Gothic® by Adobe Font Family is part of the
ITC Collection.
ITC Avant Garde Gothic® was designed by Herb Lubalin and Tom Carnase in 1970. They based it on Lubalin´s logo for Avant Garde Magazine - an exciting construction of overlapping and tightly-set geometric capitals. ITC Avant Garde is a geometric sans serif; meaning the basic shapes are constructed from circles and straight lines, much like the work from the 1920s German Bauhaus movement. The early versions of ITC Avant Garde became well-known for their many unique alternates and ligatures that still conjure up the typographic aura of the 1970s. These fonts contain the basic alphabets (without the old unusual ligatures). Still strong and modern looking, ITC Avant Garde has become a solid staple in the repertoire of today's graphic designer. The large, open counters and tall x-heights seem friendly, and help to make this family work well for short texts and headlines. The condensed weights were drawn by Ed Benguiat in 1974, and the obliques were designed by André Gürtler, Erich Gschwind and Christian Mengelt in 1977. ITC Avant Garde® Mono is a monospaced version done by Ned Bunnel in 1983.
