I accidentally fell in love with type design, and more specifically, the inscription on the historic Bemis building in Seattle. A high waist and great contrast are characteristics of this classic caps lettering that inspired my debut typeface, with additions of 3/4 caps and ornaments to boot. Read and hear more about the creation of this digital revival.

The design of Futura seems to be timeless. This typeface family which had been developed in 1926 by Paul Renner for the Bauer Type Foundry in the style of constructivism and as part of the Bauhaus movement, experienced, however, in the course of the past 90 years, repeated time-appropriate revivals which guaranteed its on-going popularity. The version of the Futura EF Pro contains the original character constructions which Dennis Megaw described as the “first designs of Futura” in 1938 in “20th century sans serif types, Typography no. 7” (See: Dr. Christopher Burke: Paul Renner, Princeton Architectural Press, New York 1998). What makes it exceptional is the extension into three weights: “Text”, “Headline” and “Index” which came about as part of a degree dissertation at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste (HFBK) in Hamburg. In this context, the accompanying documentation “Die Kritik der reinen Futura” (“The Critique of the Pure Futura”) by Katharina Strauer was published by the Materialverlag, Hamburg, in 2003. Some copies are still available at Elsner+Flake.

The design of Futura seems to be timeless. This typeface family which had been developed in 1926 by Paul Renner for the Bauer Type Foundry in the style of constructivism and as part of the Bauhaus movement, experienced, however, in the course of the past 90 years, repeated time-appropriate revivals which guaranteed its on-going popularity. The version of the Futura EF Pro contains the original character constructions which Dennis Megaw described as the “first designs of Futura” in 1938 in “20th century sans serif types, Typography no. 7” (See: Dr. Christopher Burke: Paul Renner, Princeton Architectural Press, New York 1998). What makes it exceptional is the extension into three weights: “Text”, “Headline” and “Index” which came about as part of a degree dissertation at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste (HFBK) in Hamburg. In this context, the accompanying documentation “Die Kritik der reinen Futura” (“The Critique of the Pure Futura”) by Katharina Strauer was published by the Materialverlag, Hamburg, in 2003. Some copies are still available at Elsner+Flake.

For nearly 90 years, Paul Renner’s Futura has been as popular as it is versatile—from children’s books to fashion magazines to the plaque on the Moon. Futura is a typographic icon. Futura Now offers designers a chance to see Futura with fresh eyes. It’s more truly Futura-like than any digital version you’ve ever worked with. “It brings some much-needed humanity back to the world of geometric sans serifs,” says Steve Matteson, Monotype’s Creative Type Director who led the design team. “Despite its reputation as the ultimate modern typeface, Futura Now is surprisingly warm,” he explains. “It’s just as at home set next to a leafy tree as it is next to a stainless-steel table, because it skillfully navigates the border between super-clean geometry and humanist warmth.” Futura Now—the definitive Futura—contains 102 styles, including: new Headline and Text weights; new Script and Display weights and styles; and new decorative variants (outlines, inlines, shadows, and fill). Its contemporary alignment of names and weights makes the family easier to understand and use, and its comfortable Text and judicious Headline subfamilies provide instantly refined spacing. With a large Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic character-set, Futura Now serves a wider international creative community. Futura Now is available both as individual OpenType fonts and as a set of Variable fonts, delivering limitless styles in a tidy digital footprint.