Characteristics[edit]

Univers is one of a group of neo-grotesque sans-serif typefaces, all released in

1957,[3] that includes Folio and Neue Haas Grotesk (later renamed Helvetica). A
s all are based on Akzidenz-Grotesk, these three faces are sometimes confused wi
th each other. These typefaces figure prominently in the Swiss Style of graphic
design.
Different weights and variations within the type family are designated by the us
e of numbers rather than names, a system since adopted by Frutiger for other typ
e designs. Frutiger envisioned a large family with multiple widths and weights t
hat maintained a unified design idiom. However, the actual typeface names within
Univers family include both number and letter suffixes.
Currently, Univers type family consists of 44 faces, with 16 uniquely numbered w
eight, width, position combinations. 20 fonts have oblique positions. 8 fonts su
pport Central European character set. 8 support Cyrillic character set.
Despite the large family of widths, the "@" sign is not rescaled by width.
Univers Cyrillic, Univers Pro Cyrillic (2010)[edit]
In April 2010, Linotype announced the release of Cyrillic versions of the origin
al Univers family, in TrueType, PostScript, and OpenType Pro font formats. Relea
sed fonts include Univers 55 Roman Oblique; Univers Pro Cyrillic 45 (roman, obli
que), 55 (roman, oblique), 65 (roman, oblique), 75 (roman, oblique), 85 (roman,
oblique), 47 (roman, oblique), 57 (roman, oblique), 67 (roman, oblique), 39 (rom
an), 49 (roman), 59 (roman).[4]
Linotype Univers[edit]
In 1997 Frutiger reworked the whole Univers family in cooperation with Linotype,
thus creating the Linotype Univers, which consists of 63 fonts. By reworking th
e Univers more "extreme" weights as Ultra Light or Extended Heavy were added as
well as some monospaced typefaces. The numbering system was extended to three di
gits to reflect the larger number of variations in the family.
In addition to extra font width and weight combinations, the fonts are digitally
interpolated, so that character widths scale uniformly with changing font weigh
ts. For fonts within a specific font weight, caps height, x-height, ascender and
descender heights are the same. For oblique fonts, the slope is increased from
12 to 16, and the character widths were adjusted optically. In addition, character
s such as &, , euro sign, are redesigned.
Linotype Univers Typewriter[edit]
Linotype Univers Typewriter is a sub-family of fixed-width fonts under the Linot
ype Univers family. Four fonts have been produced in Regular and Bold weights, w
ith obliques on each weight. Characters such as 1, I, J, M, W, i, j, l, dotless
j are drawn differently.
Univers Next (2010)[edit]
In 2010, Linotype extended the Linotype Univers family with true small caps and
renamed into a more logical naming of "Univers Next" to fit better in the Platin
um Collection naming. All later extensions of the font family were marketed unde
r the Univers Next title.
The font family includes all fonts previously released under the Linotype Univer
s title.
Univers Next W1G[edit]
This version supports Greek and Cyrillic characters.
The font family includes 12 fonts (330, 331, 430, 431, 530, 531, 630, 631, 730,

731, 830, 831) in 6 weights and 1 width, with complementary italics.

The Cyrillic version was released as Univers Next Cyrillic in OpenType Pro forma
t.
Univers Next Arabic (2011)[edit]
It is a companion to the Latin typeface Univers Next designed by Nadine Chahine
with the consulting of Adrian Frutiger. It is a modern Kufi design with large op
en counters and low contrast, mainly designed to work in titles and short runs o
f text. The font includes the basic Latin part of Univers Next and support for A
rabic, Persian, and Urdu. It also includes proportional and tabular numerals for
the supported languages.
The font family consists of 3 fonts (330, 430, 630) in 3 weights and 1 width, wi
thout italics. OpenType features include fraction, localized forms, proportional
figures, contextual alternates, discretionary ligatures, initial forms, termina
l forms, glyph composition/decomposition, isolated forms, medial forms, required
ligatures.
The Frutiger numbering system[edit]
Adrian Frutiger designed his unique classification system to eliminate naming an
d specifying confusion. It was first used with Univers, and was adopted for use
in the Frutiger, Avenir, and Neue Helvetica typeface families.
The number used in a font is a concatenation of two numbers. The first digit def
ines weight, while the second defines width and whether it is oblique or not.