Project Description

Adrian Frutiger’€™s life and work carries distinctive qualities of duality, seen in his experiences of joy and suffering, his dedication to black and white, his exploration of 2D print and 3D sculpture and his understanding of typography and symbols. For this brief, my aim was to design a printed publication based upon these observations, intended for an audience that is familiar with Frutiger’€™s background and designs. To achieve this, I created The Birth of Univers; a book, shaped by the physical structure of the Univers grid, that tells the story of how the typeface was developed. By turning the grid into a three-dimensional piece, the reader is taken on a journey through one of Frutiger’€™s most important pieces of work. The grid literally unfolds the story of Univers and is illustrated primarily in black and white in accordance with the majority of Frutiger’€™s work. When the grid is folded, the four colours, reminiscent of those used in the original Univers grid and type specifications, signify the brief, yet profound impact colour had in Frutiger’s life. The book unfolds in a linear sequence, and, similar to the journey of life, offers alternative narratives on both the verso and recto of the publication. This provides the reader with an extended opportunity for interaction and engagement, as well as adds a sculptural quality to the grid. In freeing the grid from its two-dimensional form, The Birth of Univers suggests that, although Frutiger’s work was primarily realised in print, his ideas maintain the potential to exist in 3D.