Atelier Adrian Frutiger, Paris: Brands & typography, the fusion of design and corporate identity in the 1960s

In 1961, Der Druckspiegel featured an article on the Atelier Adrian Frutiger, detailing his role as creative director at large at Deberny et Peignot, among numerous other branding and typographic tasks. The studio’s distinctive typographic style is centered around the exclusive use of the Univers typeface.

Adrian Frutiger is creative director at Deberny et Peignot, in charge of the transposition of heritage typefaces for photocomposition and the design of original types, such as Ondine and Méridien, before tackling to Univers. He has a small design studio within the foundry where he creates also the signage of Orly airport and the Citroën advertisements for the Netherlands — Rémy Peignot was the company’s graphic designer, in charge of advertisements and promotional brochures. In 1960, Frutiger associated André Gürtler and Bruno Pfäffli (1935) with the founding of the Atelier Frutiger, which enjoyed notable success in the decade, including up to three or four others collaborators, including the typographer Hanz-Jürg Hunziker.

The work of the workshop is very diverse, as indicated in the commentary: “from the trademark, administrative printing and prospectuses to architectural writing.” The clients are first and foremost: Arma, an advertising agency [logotype, stationery], Hermann, scientific bookstore [ acronym, stationery, advertisements], Sciences, French journal of science and technology, etc.

Subsequently, the workshop will work for Brancher, a printing ink factory, Europrint, a printer, Facom, a tool manufacturer, Air France (by creating a general indicator), Pierre Disderot, lighting manufacturer, Mills-K scaffolding, etc. For IBM, a company with which Frutiger contributes to the adaptation of Univers on “golfball” typewriters, the workshop will ensure the design of numerous catalogs. Atelier Frutiger claims the establishment of a “typographic style”, based firstly on the exclusive use of Univers, then on the design of logotypes derived from the shapes of Univers.

The collaboration with Winterthur Editions for which the workshop designs the stationery and advertisements, leads to the layout of Cantique des cantiques and La Genèse, 1962, illustrated by Frutiger.

« Atelier Adrian Frutiger, Paris / Marques et typographie », Der Druckspiegel, Stuttgart, décembre 1961.

Document : Archives Signes

Au début de cette année, Adrian Frutiger, le célèbre créateur de caractères, a ouvert à Paris un atelier d’études et de conseils typographiques et publicitaires, spécialisé en tous les problèmes concernant l’écriture.

Les travaux de cet atelier vont de la marque de fabrique, de l’imprimé administratif et des prospectus aux écritures architecturales. L’équipe, composée de Frutiger et de ses deux collaborateurs, André Gürtler et Bruno Pfäffli, s’est fixé pour but de créer pour ses clients un style typographique, qui ne se soumet pas aux influences hasardeuses de la mode ou des écoles de différentes nationalités. Depuis la mise en vigueur du Marché Commun, pour que les imprimés d’une firme soient valables sur tous les nouveaux marchés, il est indispensable qu’ils soient conçus dans une forme à la fois contemporaine et polyvalente. Suivent sur ces pages, quelques-unes des premières réalisations de l’atelier Frutiger, comportant de la typographie, en liaison avec de nouvelles créations de marques et graphismes.

Il n’est pas étonnant que tous ces travaux soient composés dans le caractère antique Univers, créé par Frutiger, qui comporte 21 variantes dans une même famille de caractères, et qui s’adapte bien à l’expression de notre époque.

‹ Nous vivons, dit Frutiger, dans le temps de l’abstraction, et des symboles visuels et intellectuels. Si un meunier a besoin d’une marque, le dessin d’un moulin à eau ne donne pas une signification suffisante de sa profession ; le rôle du meunier est en fait de broyer des grains entre deux masses ; et trouver un symbole pour cette fonction, serait certes plus difficile, mais pourrait avoir une expression plus complète et amener à un style moins temporaire. Les formes belles sont simples ; l’expression la meilleure pour une marque est celle qu’un enfant peut redessiner avec son doigt sur le sable. La typographie qui accompagne une marque ne doit pas lui faire concurrence ; elle doit simplement la soutenir, et la porter d’une façon logique dans la construction de la page. ›

Ces quelques réflexions en liaison avec le choix des travaux ci-après voudraient donner une idée de l’esprit dans lequel la jeune équipe de Paris essaie de résoudre les problèmes de tous les jours.

Kurt Weidemann

[english translation]

At the beginning of this year, Adrian Frutiger, the famous typeface designer, opened a studio in Paris dedicated to typographic and advertising studies and consulting, specializing in all issues concerning writing.

The work of this studio ranges from trademarks, administrative printings, and prospectuses to architectural writings. The team, composed of Frutiger and his two collaborators, André Gürtler and Bruno Pfäffli, aims to create a typographic style for its clients that does not succumb to the whimsical influences of fashion or the different schools of thought. Since the implementation of the Common Market, to ensure that a firm's prints are valid in all new markets, it is essential that they are designed in a form that is both contemporary and versatile. Following are some of the first works of the Frutiger studio, including typography, in connection with new creations of trademarks and graphics.

It is not surprising that all these works are composed in the Univers typeface, created by Frutiger, which includes 21 variants within the same typeface family, and adapts well to the expression of our time.

"We live," says Frutiger, "in an era of abstraction, and visual and intellectual symbols. If a miller needs a brand, the drawing of a watermill does not sufficiently represent his profession; the role of the miller is actually to grind grains between two masses; and finding a symbol for this function would certainly be more difficult, but could have a more complete expression and lead to a less temporary style. Beautiful forms are simple; the best expression for a brand is one that a child can redraw with their finger in the sand. The typography that accompanies a brand should not compete with it; it should simply support it and logically integrate it into the construction of the page."

These few reflections related to the choice of the works hereafter aim to give an idea of the spirit in which the young team in Paris tries to solve everyday problems.

Kurt Weidemann