Typeface Review: "Avenir"

What It Looks Like:

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It's History: "Avenir is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed in 1988 by Adrian Frutiger. The name, Avenir, means “future” in French. It was designed to be a more humanistic version of traditional geometric typefaces like Futura. Upon release, it was available in three weights, using Frutiger’s two-digit weight and width naming convention: 45 (book) /46 (oblique), 55 (text) /56 (oblique), and 75 (bold) /76 (oblique). Three more weights were later added.

"Avenir is a relatively new typeface, but it’s become widely used. LG uses it for the buttons on most of their cell phones. BBC Two uses Avenir in its logo and identity. Dwell magazine started using it in 2007, and the upcoming J.J. Abrams film Super 8 also uses it for titles." (Source #1)

What Type of Font It Is: 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.

"Geometrics are, above all, the expression of an idea, and as such carry a set of associative values fitting them better for display and semi-display use." (Source #2)

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How You Can Design With It: "A balanced and restrained Geometric with a Humanist sensitivity in many of its letterforms, Avenir requires fairly loose letter spacing." (Source #2)

"Avenir’s greatest strengths are its simplicity and balance. It bridges the gap between geometric and humanist sans-serifs, making it a versatile, modern choice. Avenir is suitable for both headline and body copy. Improvements in hinting have made it better for on-screen viewing at smaller sizes." (Source #1)

Where You Can Get It: You can download a version for free using FontPalace, or you could buy a version of it from Fonts.com. There are also other versions that are like it and for free download:

- http://www.dafont.com/new-cicle.font?nb_ppp=50&text=Avenir

- http://www.dafont.com/surrounding.font?nb_ppp=50&text=Avenir

- http://www.dafont.com/florencesans.font?nb_ppp=50&text=Avenir

- http://www.dafont.com/lane.font?nb_ppp=50&text=Avenir

- http://www.dafont.com/siple.font?nb_ppp=50&text=Avenir

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Descriptive Terms for It: Body copy, display, Geometric, headings, legible, modern, sans serif, simple, sub-headings, and versatile.

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 141.

Examples:

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It isn't exactly like "Avenir", but it is like it and it is called "GatsbyFLF".
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