Back Futura Catalan Futura Welsh Futura (Schriftart) German Futura Spanish Futura (kirjaintyyppi) Finnish Futura (police de caractères) French Futura (betűtípus) Hungarian Futura ID Futura (carattere) Italian Futura Japanese
&sq=Albert Einstein&lang=en&file=File:Futura_Specimen.svg) | |
| Category | Sans-serif |
|---|---|
| Classification | Geometric |
| Designer(s) | Paul Renner |
| Foundry | Bauersche Gießerei |
| Date created | 1927 |
| Re-issuing foundries | Intertype |
| Shown here | Futura LT |
Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by Paul Renner and released in 1927.[1] It was designed as a contribution on the New Frankfurt-project. It is based on geometric shapes, especially the circle, similar in spirit to the Bauhaus design style of the period.[2][3] It was developed as a typeface by Bauersche Gießerei, in competition with Ludwig & Mayer's seminal Erbar typeface of 1926.[4][5]
Although Renner was not associated with the Bauhaus, he shared many of its idioms and believed that a modern typeface should express modern models, rather than be a revival of a previous design. Renner's design rejected the approach of most previous sans-serif designs (now often called grotesques), which were based on the models of signpainting, condensed lettering and nineteenth-century serif typefaces, in favour of simple geometric forms: near-perfect circles, triangles and squares. It is based on strokes of near-even weight, which are low in contrast. The lowercase has tall ascenders, which rise above the cap line, and uses nearly-circular, single-storey forms for the "a" and "g", the former previously more common in handwriting than in printed text.[a] The uppercase characters present proportions similar to those of classical Roman capitals.[7] The original metal type showed extensive adaptation of the design to individual sizes, and several divergent digitisations have been released by different companies.[8]
Futura was extensively marketed by Bauersche Gießerei and its American distribution arm by brochure as capturing the spirit of modernity, using the German slogan "die Schrift unserer Zeit" ["the typeface of our time"] and in English "the typeface of today and tomorrow".[9][10] It has remained popular since then.[5][11]
Since 2001, Futura has been a registered trademark of Bauer Types, S.L. in the UK,[12] the US,[13] and the EU.[14]
- ^ Christopher Burke (December 1998). Paul Renner: The Art of Typography. Princeton Architectural Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-56898-158-1.
- ^ The Bauhaus Designer Paul Renner. Creativepro.com.
- ^ Kupferschmid, Indra (6 January 2012). "True Type of the Bauhaus". Fonts In Use. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- ^ Kupferschmid, Indra. "On Erbar and Early Geometric Sans Serifs". CJ Type. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ a b Paul Shaw (April 2017). Revival Type: Digital Typefaces Inspired by the Past. Yale University Press. pp. 210–3. ISBN 978-0-300-21929-6.
- ^ "Koralle". Fonts in Use. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- ^ Ulrich, Ferdinand. "Types of their time – A short history of the geometric sans". FontShop. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Burke1998 manufacturingwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Rhatigan, Dan. "Futura: The Typeface of Today and Tomorrow". Ultrasparky. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ Aynsley, Jeremy (2000). Graphic Design in Germany: 1890-1945. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 102–5. ISBN 9780520227965.
- ^ Handover, Phyllis Margaret (1958). "Grotesque Letters". Monotype Newsletter, Also Printed in Motif as "Letters Without Serifs".
- ^ "Trade mark number UK00900014530". Intellectual Property Office. 4 May 2001. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
- ^ "Futura". United States Patent and Trademark Office. May 29, 2001. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
- ^ "FUTURA 000014530". European Union Intellectual Property Office. 18 June 2001. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).