Adrian Frutiger

Adrian Frutiger (born March 24, 1928) is one of the twentieth century's most prominent typeface designers and continues to influence the direction of digital typography into the twenty-first century. Frutiger is best known for his typefaces Univers and Frutiger. Frutiger was born near the town of Interlaken, in the Swiss Alps. His father was a weaver. As a child he experimented with a variety of self-invented scripts and stylized handwriting in reaction to the formal cursive required at the time in Swiss schools. An early interest in sculpture was discouraged by his father and secondary school teachers who encouraged him to work in printing. Though Frutiger entered the world of print, he maintains that love of sculpture influenced the form of his types.

Frutiger's career and type development spans the eras of hot metal, phototypesetting, and digital typesetting. Frutiger now lives near Bern, Switzerland, and is primarily working with woodcuts. In 2003 Frutiger was commissioned by Swiss watchmaker Ventura to design a line of limited-edition watches. He created a new face specifically for the watch face. Frutiger also designed a mark for the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India. The institute had been named the National Design Institute; however, the name was changed to match Frutiger's design, which incorporated a stylized NID logo alongside the words "National Institute of Design."

©2007 David Scott | Cosmic