Type – Adapted to Everyday Life

Adrian Frutiger is not one of those artists who prefers to spend his time sitting in an ivory tower waiting to be kissed by a muse. While a part of his inspiration certainly comes from inside himself, generally his inventions grow out of a specific need in the daily usage of typography. One of his anecdotes quite clearly illustrates what he believes to be the mission of a type creator: “Several years ago, I saw an elderly lady in a train station trying to decipher the departure schedule. She wasn’t able to make sense of it, because the lettering was too small. So I helped her, of course, and saw myself faced with the challenge of creating a new typeface which could be implemented for such purposes.” The result was Vectora™, a typeface with very large middle lengths, therefore making words extremely easy to read in very small sizes.

In connection with this story, Frutiger warns young creatives in agencies and design studios to not only be inspired by looks but also by the circumstances – what counts is for which purpose and in which environment a typeface will be used. “Type must be open and clear! It must be adapted to our lives. Type is the clothing a word wears, so it must be subordinate to the content.”

Search with the keyword for ‘Frutiger’ to find all fonts in the Linotype Library designed by Adrian Frutiger.