I find the old Ampersand in Univers rather ingenious, it might even have survived with one of the digital versions, not sure though. Love it.

I use Bitstream’s Zurich, aka Univers, to get that old ampersand. It’s been replaced in the versions sold to Americans ever since the original releases. It seems to have a better feel all around, warmer in the way a tube amplifier compares to a transistor amplifier.

Anyway, as for getting quotes, dig through Swiss design books starting with the early 1960s. Univers was not all available in 1957, it took a few years for Deberny & Peignot and Monotype to get all the weights drawn, printers to buy it, and people to start using it.

Thanks for your help, I knew my comment about the ampersand would be controversial!

In the film, Helvetica…
Hermann Zapf said that he never used Helvetica because he preferred Frutiger’s Univers

Hi umily

It is nice to see that i am not the only one who is strugling to find info on univers (see other posts in the design forum).

Here are some of the quotes that i have come accross;

“Univers expressed a ... cool elegance” - Freidrich Fridel
“The seperate fonts [of univers] were like modules of a whole” - Freidrich Fridel
“Univers is an epochal pevelopment” - Emil Ruder
“Univers was the typeface of the 50’s” - A.Frutiger
“Univers is absolutley perfect” - Friedrich Fridel
“Helvetica: Frankly i never liked it that much... Univers and Akzidenz Grotesk both have more charecter” - Fritz Gottschallk

Wil

Fab, Thanks Will

Will: Make sure to correct the spelling before you’re going to print, it’s Friedrich Friedl and Fritz Gottschalk.

Good spot Florian. Sorry for the typos, i was posting in a hurry.

Umily, what is it that you are planning to do with these quotes? I have been doing some fairly thorough research into Univers and may have some other stuf which may be of use to you.

Wil