The German word "Akzidenz" refers to jobbing work: posters, flyers and forms, as opposed to book publishing. The typeface was designed for commercial printing, at a time when sans serifs were mainly used for display.
At a glance
Origin: H. Berthold type foundry, Berlin, Germany.
Designer: Unknown. The typeface is based on 19th-century German grotesques, and was later expanded and harmonized by Günter Gerhard Lange from the 1950s onwards.
Date: 1898.
Evolution
Rediscovered in the 1950s by Swiss designers, it directly inspired the creation of Helvetica and Univers. Berthold released a modernized version, Akzidenz-Grotesk Next, in 2006.
Famous examples
The posters of Josef Müller-Brockmann and Armin Hofmann, key figures of the International Typographic Style, are among its most famous uses.
Current use
It remains popular with designers for its less polished design than Helvetica, especially in cultural publishing and institutional identities.
Alternatives
Helvetica, Neue Haas Grotesk, Univers.
Great typefaces glossary
Akzidenz-Grotesk, Arial, Avenir, Baskerville, Bodoni, Caslon, Circular, Cooper Black, Didot, DIN, FF Meta, Franklin Gothic, Frutiger, Futura, Garamond, Georgia, Gill Sans, Gotham, Graphik, Helvetica, IBM Plex, Inter, Minion, Montserrat, Myriad, Neue Haas Grotesk, Optima, Poppins, Roboto, Sabon, SF Pro, Source Sans, Source Serif, Times New Roman, Univers, Verdana