Akzidenz-Grotesk

The 1950s saw the development of the International Typographic Style movement, also called Swiss design. Major elements of the movement included asymmetrical organiation of elements on a grid, objective design and copy, and the use of sans-serif typography. In the latter area, the dominant font that inspired and drove the movement was not one developed during the era, but one that was created 60 years prior.

Akzidenz Grotesk was a san-serif font family released by the Berthold Foundry in 1896. It "originate[d] from Royal Grotesk light by royal type-cutter Ferdinand Theinhardt," who developed it for the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin (Devroye, 2014). The fonts came in many sizes and weights that allowed for a large variety of compositions, and was seen as "a major step in the evolution of the unified and systematized type family." It  continued to be "a source of inspiration for other sans serif typefaces until the post-World War II era" (Meggs, 2006). During the Swiss design movement, two major typefaces that drew on Akzidenz Grotesk's inspiration were Univers and Helvetica. Although some of the differences were subtle, it is possible to see the many variations when the typefaces are compared side-by-side.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

During the Swiss design movement, Akzidenz Grotesk was highly favored by many designers. The most notable of the group include Joseph Muller-Bruckman and Anton Stankowski. Muller Bruckman's designs incorporated the font in many different ways, sometimes making it the major focus of the design, such as in the Der Film poster. Almost 100 years after the font was developed, Stankowski was still singing its praises, calling it his preferred font even after 60 years in the industry.

Source: 100besttypefaces.com

Many years after the end of the Swiss design movement, the typeface is still highly prevalent. It frequently ranks near the top of lists like "The Best 100 Typefaces of All Time" and "The 10 Best Fonts." The font can be seen in everything from calculators to movie posters.

Braun calculator with Akzidenz Grotesk buttons. Source: FontsInUse.com

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter movie poster. Blue font is Akzidenz Grotesk. Source: FontsInUse.com

A current designer based in Portugal was even inspired to create a sample branding project, imagining an Akzidenz Grotesk range of beers in homage to the typeface's birthplace. He created mockup bottles for different types of beers with alcohol volume based on the different weights in the original typeface.

Source: CreativeBloq.com

It is unlikely that Akzidenz Grotesk will ever go out of style or use. As one writer states, the font family "has remained popular and influential for a century now because it is regal without being pretentious, clean without being soulless...Typefaces come and go: Akzidenz Grotesk remains" (Alterio, 2014).

Sources:

Alterio, J. (2014). Kern your enthusiasm 7. Retrieved from http://hilobrow.com/2014/08/07/kern-your-enthusiasm-7/

Devroye, L. (2014). Ferdinand Theinhardt. Retrieved from http://luc.devroye.org/fonts-46521.html

H. Berthold Typefoundry. (2014). Akzidenz grotesk. Retrieved from http://www.bertholdtypes.com/blog/2010-12-08/akzidenz-grotesk/

Meggs, P.B., Purvis, A.W. (2006). Megg's history of graphic design. Hoboken, N.J.: J Wiley & Sons.