akzidenz grotesk typeface classification

We thought round punctuation might neutralize this uniformity. There is a reason why we find roman types more legible than sans serifs the roman alphabet has more rhythm, it has more contrast and great readability because it’s not uniform.

Where does this preference come from?Įrik Spiekermann | I wouldn’t call it additions, but echoes. In FF Real you have once more decided to add this and other so-called anglo-american features or additions, that we are familiar with from American typefaces such as Franklin Gothic™ and News Gothic™. Whether it’s FF Meta®, FF Info® or FF Unit®, your particular liking of the double-story ‘g’ is well-known.

Without any dents and differences in stroke contrast it is perfect, but interesting. When comparing the status quo with early versions from the 1890s, you can tell how much it has been refurbished – and yet it is not as boring as Helvetica. It does not have that peculiarly slanted ‘&’, that is well known in other weights, albeit the ‘ß’ is a bit weird – which is why we changed it –, not to mention the stacked ‘8’, which I don’t like, and this weird long ‘t’ … I get the feeling that in all this time several people have worked on it. However, to me AG medium is the pure typeface. If you have a look at the Zurich Airport signage for example, you’ll notice that the digital version of the medium weight turned out too bold.Ī correction sheet of FF Real in comparison with two weights of ‘AG’. It seems they took smaller sizes or AG Old Face for their digitization.

They have designed so much with it, you can recognize it in so many good posters.ĭuring my time at Berthold I came across that typeface in photo composition, but later it wasn’t available digitally. To me this is the essence of Swiss Typography. Ferdinand Theinhardt also designed a face in this weight. When you receive that so-called ‘medium’ weight today, it appears much bolder. How did that occur?Įrik Spiekermann | I have been talking about this forever and it has been on my list for many years: Long before I owned Akzidenz Grotesk wood type, I perceived this particularly light weight of ‘AG’ as the ideal typeface. Erik, in the preface to your biography it says Real was based on a special medium weight of Akzidenz Grotesk®.

Akzidenz grotesk typeface classification