Frutiger designed Univers as a complete family from the outset, with 21 weight and width variants. To do so, he invented a numbering system in which each number indicates a weight and a width.
At a glance
Origin: Deberny et Peignot type foundry, Paris, France.
Designer: Adrian Frutiger.
Date: 1957.
Evolution
Univers was designed for both lead type and phototypesetting. Linotype and Frutiger released a greatly expanded version, Linotype Univers, in 1997.
Famous examples
It was the typeface of the identity of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, designed by Otl Aicher.
Current use
It remains widely used in institutional identities, signage and publishing, for its rigor and consistency.
Alternatives
Helvetica, Frutiger, Akzidenz-Grotesk.
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