The Sans Serif Typefaces

The sans serif now has 150 years of history behind it through which a consistent line of development runs. Just as the classic antiqua went through changes in its appearance, the sans serif too experienced a number of variations. Instead of the almost cliché comparison of architecture and typography, what follows is an illustrative comparison of letters and fashion which covers 250 years.

1750: As the point of departure, shown here is the overly elegant style of the 18th century. The extreme refinement is evident in the typefaces as well as the clothing and is clearly indicative of the end of an age.

1825: Before the sans serifs came the powerful slab serifs as a reaction to the elegance of the Didot serifs. The fashion of the same time also displays a marked difference over its predecessors.

1890: The breakthrough of the sans serifs took relatively little time. At the end of the 19th century type foundries all over the world already had the means to produce sans serif types. Like the typefaces, the clothing had also evolved to show austere, tight-fitting lines.

1900: The turn of the century brought the Jugendstil and its romantic influence is evident in both the typefaces and the fashion of the day.

1925: The 1920s saw the rise of bare expression and an objectiveness influenced by science and technology. The first attempts at typefaces with purely geometrical forms were made. The clothing had lost every trace of adornment, beards disappeared and hairstyles were reduced to almost severe simplicity.

1955: The years after World War II saw the rebirth of the sans serifs of the previous century. They became models for new alphabets with forms far removed from purely constructionist principles. The use of these more modular type forms seemed easier and better adapted to modern times. At the same time as the Beatles made their triumphant appearance, the fashion world also experienced a kind of revolution. The tight jackets and suits were discarded and the extreme counter-reaction introduced clothes of burlap and leather. From America came blue jeans, a look which spread around the globe, across every class of society, and even across gender lines.

1960 – present: The pace of change in fashion as well as in typography accelerated and important new sans serif designs were developed next to the other significant if short-lived alphabets. Some of the classics:
Univers™ by Adrian Frutiger was a typeface ahead of its times in both concept and aesthetic. It received wide recognition in 1957 and became a standard for communication worldwide, especially after its redesign in 1997.
Herb Lubalin’s Avantgarde Gothic® is a typeface which reflected the time, an austere, constructed typeface and has been widely used since the end of the hippie movement in 1968.
Frutiger™, by Adrian Frutiger, has been an international success since 1976. The alphabet proved to be extremely versatile, representing both elementary, practical design as well as the creative development of the sans serif concept.
And finally came Rotis®, designed by Otl Aicher in 1988. It contains a sans serif as well as a serif family, combining both styles in universal and compatible forms.
In the last forty years a number of other outstanding sans serif have been developed and used around the world. This proves the unbroken strength and acceptance of sans serifs through to the present day ... and lets us look forward to the new sans serifs of the 21st century.