Typeface	Futura
Category	Sans-serif
Classifications	Geometric Sans-Serif
Designer(s)	Paul Renner
Foundry	Bauer Type Foundry Neufville Digital
Date released	1924

The commemorative plaque left on Earth's moon in July, 1969 uses Futura.

Futura is a geometric sans serif typeface designed in 1927 by Paul Renner. Although Renner was not associated with the Bauhaus, he shared many of its idioms and believed that a modern typeface should express modern models, rather than be a revival of a previous design. Renner's initial design included several geometrically constructed alternative characters and ranging (old style) figures which can be found in the typeface Architype Renner. Futura was commissioned by the Bauer type foundry. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... “Font” redirects here. ... “Font” redirects here. ... In typography, serifs are the small features at the end of strokes within letters. ... A type designer is a person who designs typefaces. ... Image:Http://www. ... A type foundry is a company that designs and/or distributes typefaces. ... For the rap album, see 1924 (album). ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (871x450, 99 KB) Photograph of the stainless steel dedication plaque (right) placed on the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle (left). ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (871x450, 99 KB) Photograph of the stainless steel dedication plaque (right) placed on the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle (left). ... In typography, a sans-serif or sans serif (sometimes just sans) typeface is one that does not have the small features called serifs at the end of strokes. ... “Font” redirects here. ... Image:Http://www. ... For the British gothic rock band, see Bauhaus (band). ...

Futura has an appearance of efficiency and forwardness. The typeface is derived from simple geometric forms (near-perfect circles, triangles and squares) and is based on strokes of near-even weight, which are low in contrast. (This is most visible in the almost perfectly round stroke of the o, but the shape is actually slightly ovoid.) In designing Futura, Renner avoided the decorative, eliminating non-essential elements. The lowercase has tall ascenders, which rise above the cap line. The uppercase characters present proportions similar to those of classical roman capitals.

Influence on other typefaces

The success of Futura coincided with the creation of many new geometric sans-serif faces by competing foundries including Kabel, Metro, Vogue, Erbar and Spartan, Twentieth Century, and Century Gothic among others. Some were near identical copies as in Spartan and Vogue, but others, were uniquely different including Nobel and Kabel. Kabel is a German typeface that was designed in 1927 by Rudolf Koch. ... Twentieth Century or Tw Cen MT is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by Sol Hess between the years 1937 and 1947. ... Century Gothic is a sans-serif typeface created by Monotype Studios. ... Kabel is a German typeface that was designed in 1927 by Rudolf Koch. ...

Typeface designer Adrian Frutiger acknowledges Futura as one of his inspirations for his 1988 typeface Avenir. More recently Futura has been the basis of Ikea Sans and Opel Sans, fonts designed (for Ikea and Opel, respectively) by Robin Nicholas.^[1] Adrian Frutiger (born March 24, 1928) is the designer of some of the best known typefaces of the 20th century. ... World Map showing locations of IKEA stores, where green in currently in operation and blue is proposed, as at 2007 IKEA is a privately-held, international home products retailer that sells low-price products, including flat pack furniture, accessories, bathrooms and kitchens at retail stores around the world. ... This article is about the European car manufacturer. ...

Usage

Futura's success spawned a range of new geometric sans-serif typefaces from competing foundries, and remains one of the most used sans-serif types into the twenty-first century. It is used prominently in the graphic identity of Volkswagen and Union Pacific. The former Swiss airline Swissair also used Futura from the 1950s to the 1990s. Boeing commercial Airplanes almost exclusively use a variation of Futura (medium, LtBt, Demi) in their flightdeck labeling for both information decals and instrumentation. Futura remains an important typeface family and is used on a daily basis for print and digital purposes as both a headline and body font. Filmmaker Wes Anderson uses Futura extensively in his films, as did Stanley Kubrick. Futura was used on the commemorative plaque left on Earth's moon by Apollo 11 astronauts in July 1969 (see photo at right). American conceptual artist Barbara Kruger uses the typeface in much of her language based artwork. The official design of the logo and name of a company or institution used on letterheads, envelopes, forms, folders, brochures, etc. ... VW redirects here. ... The Union Pacific Railroad (NYSE: UNP) is the largest railroad in the United States. ... Swissair (Swiss Air Transport Company Limited) was the former national airline of Switzerland. ... The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American director, writer, and producer of features, short films and commercials. ... Kubrick redirects here. ... This article covers the Apollo 11 mission itself. ... I Shop, Therefore I Am Barbara Kruger (b. ...

The revival of the popular BBC series, Doctor Who uses Futura. BBC1 also used the font on one of the "Mirror Globe" idents. For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... This article is about the television series. ...

In Italy, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana and Ferrovie dello Stato use Futura as their corporate fonts. The FS rail station of Trieste The Ferrovie dello Stato (italian: State Railways) or FS is the operator of the Italian railway network. ...

Art collective, ololo productions use Futura exclusively in their poster collection.

References

Further reading

• Jaspert, Berry and Johnson. Encyclopaedia of Type Faces. Cassell Paperback, London; 2001. ISBN 1-84188-139-2
• Lawson, Alexander S., Anatomy of a Typeface. Godine: 1990. ISBN 978-0879233334.
• Meggs, Philip. B and McKelvey, Roy. Revival of the Fittest: Digital Versions of Classic Typefaces. RC Publications; 2002. ISBN 1-883915-08-2
• Haley, Allen. Type: Hot Designers Make Cool Fonts. Rockport Publishers Inc, Gloucester; 1998. ISBN 1-56496-317-9

Cover of . ...

External links

• Typowiki: Futura