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Reflecting on the Life and Work of Adrian Frutiger, the Man Behind the Type

Written by Street Level Studio    21 Sep   
Category: 
Design
Human Interest

We were saddened to learn of the recent passing of world-renowned Swiss type designer Adrian Frutiger. The world of typography — and the world around you — would be very different without the work of Frutiger, who designed nearly 30 fonts, many of which you use and see every day.

Frutiger’s most well-known fonts, Univers, Frutiger, and Avenir, can be found on street signs, in airports, and at train stations (as well as many, many other places). He crafted these fonts with the purpose of communicating a message in the most efficient way.

In his own words he says, “On my career path I learned to understand that beauty and readability — and up to a certain point, banality — are close bedfellows: the best typeface is the one that impinges least on the reader's consciousness, becoming the sole tool that communicates the meaning of the writer to the understanding of the reader.”

Frutiger embraced multiple evolving technologies throughout his career, so it’s no surprise that his outlook on successful typography has withstood the digital age. Like with type design, intuitive and unobtrusive composition is the core of designing for the digital user’s experience. Frutiger’s timeless approach and his seamless combination of simplicity and spirit will continue to inspire print and web designers alike.

Learn more about the life and work of Adrian Frutiger here.

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Every color tells a story, and each of the roughly ten million colors that are visible to the human eye conveys a message by producing a chemical reaction in our brains. These messages are often tied to emotional responses, personal memories, and cultural context. They can impact our perception—when you assume that a yellow car on a city street is a taxi—and they can cause us to act—when that same taxi stops at a red light.

So, what happens when we boost this communication by giving the colors names? By adding in language, can we craft these messages and reframe these perceptions?

If you’ve ever opened a package of crayons, purchased a lipstick, or perused paint chips, you’re familiar with color names that fall out of the standard ROY G. BIV spectrum. These names hold a great deal of power, first and foremost, the ability to offer a fuller description of a particular color.

Pantone, the authority on color trends, chooses one “Color of the Year” to express the visual spirit of the year and to predict future trends. According to Pantone [1], the 2015 color “embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness… [It is]…an earthy shade with a bit of sophistication… A matte finish highlights [its] organic nature while adding a sheen conveys a completely different message of glamour and luxury.” That’s a big message for one color to convey. Pantone has chosen the name “Marsala” from a wine originating in Sicily to perfectly encapsulate this meaning.

However, the most descriptive name isn’t always the most beneficial. According to Help Scout [2] citing this study [3], “when subjects were asked to evaluate products with different color names…‘fancy’ names were preferred far more often. For example, mocha was found to be significantly more likeable than brown—despite the fact that the researchers showed subjects the same color!”
This may even extend to purchasing power; for example, “It has also been shown[4] that more unusual and unique color names can increase the intent to purchase. For instance, jelly beans with names such as razzmatazz were more likely to be chosen than jelly beans names such as lemon yellow.” Thus, with the right color name, marketers can affect product appeal and even user choice.

Lilac Dew
Grape Scott!
Deep Eggplant