Univers

The Univers font was designed by Adrian Frutiger in 1956. It is a neo-grotesque sans serif that features even stroke weights and a large x-height for easier legibility. This has made Univers popular as it works well for large display sizes as well as small sizes. It is also a very diverse typeface with over 27 different variations available. It was also the first type family to use a numbering system as opposed to using names for the variety of weights and set-widths. This is called the Univers Grid.

The Univers Grid is essentially a way of labeling type weights without the words bold, heavy and light. However is also tells the amount they are condensed or extended.

The first number in the system refers to the character weight. 2 is the thinnest and it goes all the way up to 9, the thickest. The second number refers to the character width. 3 is the widest or most extended and 9 is the most condensed. Even numbers mean it is italic, and odd mean it is roman.