Neue Haas Unica

Posted on April 8, 2015 Posted in TypographyTagged Akzidenz Grotesk, font, helvetica, sans-serif, type, typeface, univers

Neue Haas Unica

In the late 70s, Haas Type Foundry commissioned Team?’77 to create a new sans-serif that combined the great qualities of Helvetica, Univers and Akzidenz Grotesk. They came up with Unica, which was released in 1980.

Working from prints of Helvetica, Univers and Akzidenz Grotesk, the trio identified, compared and evaluated the finest of details, creating a new-generation sans-serif that eliminated the imperfections of its predecessors. “Unica was designed to be different,” said André Gürtler; “sharper than Helvetica, warmer than Univers, cleaner than Akzidenz.”

Because of legal disputes, Unica has never been available as a digital typeface. Now it is.

Monotype has just released Neue Haas Unica, a full digital set designed by Toshi Omagari. It is also available as a webfont.

Great to see classic typefaces getting a fresh new life in the digital age.

Neue Haas Grotesk

Posted on April 25, 2012 Posted in TypographyTagged font, helvetica, neue haas grotesk, sans-serif, type, typeface, Typography4 Comments

Neue Haas Grotesk

Font Bureau has created this wonderful mini-site all about the excellent typeface Neue Haas Grotesk. It explains the history of the face, along with a nice section on its features and what makes it different from Helvetica. An instant valuable resource.

Kristín Agnarsdóttir

Posted on January 24, 2011January 24, 2011 Posted in DesignTagged graphic design, helvetica, minimalism, packaging4 Comments

Recent graduate Kristín Agnarsdóttir designed this Knoll Architectural Paint packaging for a design class at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. The class assignment was to either redesign an existing architectural paint line or choose a brand or designer and invent a paint line for them. Here’s what had to say about why she selected the Knoll brand:

Based on my love for strong simple mid century designs, I chose Knoll as my inspiration and maker of a new line of paint colors. The name is french and means “light”. The idea is that they only make a very selected line of colors inspired by their textiles and color choices through the decades.

Excellent choice of colors that would make this product stand out from the rest. I’d by this stuff solely on the great design of the packaging.

I’m sure she received in A in that class. I love seeing work of this caliber coming from recent graduates.

Limited Edition Helvetica Poster

Posted on August 18, 2010August 18, 2010 Posted in Design, International Typographic Style, MerchTagged film, graphic design, helvetica, limited edition, poster, screenprint, Stempel9 Comments

Sorry for the lack of posts this past week, I was under the weather.

Swiss Dots, the producers of the Helvetica documentary, have create this new limited-edition screenprint for the film. The print is inspired by a 1960’s design that has been seen on D. Stempel AG brochures, type specimens and posters — which has been making an appearance on the TV show, Mad Men.

The poster is hand screenprinted on archival 300gsm paper, A2 size (16 1/2? x 23 1/2?) in a numbered edition of 100 copies, each signed by director Gary Hustwit. You can order one here for $150.

Pan Am Destination Posters

Posted on June 16, 2010June 16, 2010 Posted in Design, International Typographic StyleTagged graphic design, helvetica, International Typographic Style, minimalism, modernism, posters, travel9 Comments

These beautiful and mysterious Pan Am posters were designed in 1971 by Chermayeff & Geismar. What’s remarkable about these posters — other than the minimal design and the use of Helvetica — is the power of the photography. The simple, sometimes monocromatic, images make a clear statement about the location and inspire the viewer. You can see a few other examples here and here.

DCrit student Frederico Duarte did a little digging and discovered some interesting info about the posters. You can read the story on the Eye Magazine blog and in a feature.

Shepley Bulfinch Poster by Experimental Jetset

Posted on March 5, 2010March 5, 2010 Posted in Architecture, Design, Grid Systems, International Typographic StyleTagged Architecture, graphic design, grid system, helvetica, International Typographic Style, poster, print3 Comments

I’ve been meaning to post about this for a month now and finally got around to doing it.

Experimental Jetset recently designed this lovely poster, for architecture firm Shepley Bulfinch, announcing their 2010 fellowship. The design is based on the Roman numerals ‘MMX’ represented with geometric forms that relate back architecture. A brilliant piece.

You can read more about the design process on Shepley Bulfinch’s blog and get a peak at an early sketch EJ did for the poster. It’s always interesting to see how a design evolves from a sketch to the final piece.