Typeface Review: "Futura"

What It Looks Like:

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It's History: "Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface that was commissioned by the Bauer type foundry in 1927. Originally, it included Light, Medium, Bold, and Bold Oblique fonts, and then later Light Oblique, Medium Oblique, Demibold, Demibold Oblique, Book, Extra Bold, and Extra Bold Italic fonts were released. (Source #1)

"Futura was designed by Paul Renner [in about 1924-1926 and was issued by the Bauer Foundry in 1927]. While he wasn’t associated with the Bauhaus, he shared the idea that a modern typeface should express modern models, rather than simply reviving an older design." (Source #1 and #2)

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What Type of Font Is It: Geometric; "Geometric typefaces reflect the idea that type can be reduced to simple geometric units and cleansed of all historical associations. They are characteristic of the spirit of modernism that formed the dominant design ideology in Europe from the 1930s through the 1950s." (Source #2)

"Futura has an efficient, forward appearance, and is derived from simple geometric forms. This is evident in the obvious influence of near-perfect circles, squares, and triangles. All non-essential elements were removed from the typeface, and the uppercase characters have proportions similar to classical Roman capitals." (Source #1)

How You Can Design With It:  "Futura is an excellent choice for advertising copy. It was used by IKEA until 2010, Volkswagen, Shell Petrol, and HP in their advertising and branding. Wes Anderson uses Futura for all of his films, and it was also Stanley Kubrick’s favorite font. It’s well suited to any modern design, for both headings and short copy." (Source #1)

Where You Can Get It: You can get it for free here:
http://www.linotype.com/472/futura-family.html.

Descriptive Terms For It: book copy, classic, Geometric, sans serif, variety, whole family.

Sources:
- #1 - http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/08/the-most-popular-fonts-used-by-designers/

- #2 - The Complete Typographer: A Manual for Designing with Type" by Will Hill, 2nd Edition, p. 134 and 137

Examples:

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