Neutraface
Encyclopedia
Neutraface is a geometric sans-serif
typeface
designed by Christian Schwartz
for House Industries
, an American type foundry
. It was influenced by Richard Neutra
's design principles and was developed with the assistance of Neutra's son and former partner, Dion Neutra
.
The general purpose versions of Neutraface are Neutraface Display and Neutraface Text, and since its initial release the Neutraface family has expanded with the variants Neutraface Condensed, Neutraface Slab and Neutraface No. 2. The Neutraface family is widely used and is even the subject of a parody of Lady Gaga
's song "Poker Face
".
's principles of architecture and design. The Neutraface alphabet was developed through consultation with Neutra's son and former partner, Dion Neutra
, and with reference to the signs on the buildings designed by Neutra. Since there were limited samples of Neutra's signage, much of Schwartz's work was interpretation, including an entire lowercase alphabet which Neutra had never used and thus was based on Futura
, Nobel
and Tempo.
Although Neutraface was conceived as a display and headline typeface, Neutraface Text was created to complement Neutraface Display. Neutraface Text has a larger x-height
than its display counterpart and increased stroke contrast.
Shake Shack
chain, book covers for Taschen
's Movie Icons series, advertising material for Wendy's
fast food restaurants, and posters for the 2008 film Quantum of Solace.
Neutraface was also the subject of a parody video of Lady Gaga
's song "Poker Face
" on YouTube
, titled "Neutra Face: An Ode On A Typeface".
Sans-serif
In typography, a sans-serif, sans serif or san serif typeface is one that does not have the small projecting features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. The term comes from the French word sans, meaning "without"....
typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
designed by Christian Schwartz
Christian Schwartz
Christian Schwartz is an American type designer. He has been awarded the German Design Award and the Prix Charles Peignot.-Life :...
for House Industries
House Industries
House Industries is a type foundry and design studio based in Yorklyn, Delaware. The company was created in the 1990s in Wilmington, Delaware by co-founders Andy Cruz and Rich Roat. The company is best known for its typeface creations, which have appeared on television , in film House Industries is...
, an American type foundry
Type foundry
A type foundry is a company that designs or distributes typefaces. Originally, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces and matrices for line-casting machines like the Linotype and Monotype machines designed to be printed on letterpress printers...
. It was influenced by Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
's design principles and was developed with the assistance of Neutra's son and former partner, Dion Neutra
Dion Neutra
Dion Neutra is a modernist / International style American architect and consultant who worked originally with his father, Richard Neutra .Dion started at age 11...
.
The general purpose versions of Neutraface are Neutraface Display and Neutraface Text, and since its initial release the Neutraface family has expanded with the variants Neutraface Condensed, Neutraface Slab and Neutraface No. 2. The Neutraface family is widely used and is even the subject of a parody of Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
's song "Poker Face
Poker Face (Lady Gaga song)
"Poker Face" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga from her debut album, The Fame. Produced by RedOne, it was released as the album's second single in late 2008 for some markets and in early 2009 for the rest of the world...
".
Design
Neutraface was designed by Christian Schwartz over the period of a year with assistance in art direction from Ken Barber and Andy Cruz. It was the result of a project started by Schwartz to design "the most typographically complete geometric sans serif family ever", based on Richard NeutraRichard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
's principles of architecture and design. The Neutraface alphabet was developed through consultation with Neutra's son and former partner, Dion Neutra
Dion Neutra
Dion Neutra is a modernist / International style American architect and consultant who worked originally with his father, Richard Neutra .Dion started at age 11...
, and with reference to the signs on the buildings designed by Neutra. Since there were limited samples of Neutra's signage, much of Schwartz's work was interpretation, including an entire lowercase alphabet which Neutra had never used and thus was based on Futura
Futura (typeface)
In typography, Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed in 1927 by Paul Renner. It is based on geometric shapes that became representative visual elements of the Bauhaus design style of 1919–1933...
, Nobel
Nobel (typeface)
Nobel is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by Sjoerd Henrik de Roos and Dick Dooijes in the period 1929–1935 for the Amsterdam Type foundry). Capitalizing upon Lettergieterij Amsterdam's substantial financial interest in the Berlin typefoundry H. Berthold AG, de Roos conceived of a revival...
and Tempo.
Although Neutraface was conceived as a display and headline typeface, Neutraface Text was created to complement Neutraface Display. Neutraface Text has a larger x-height
X-height
In typography, the x-height or corpus size refers to the distance between the baseline and the mean line in a typeface. Typically, this is the height of the letter x in the font , as well as the u, v, w, and z...
than its display counterpart and increased stroke contrast.
Variants
- Neutraface Condensed is an adaptation of Neutraface with a condensed width that Schwartz began to develop as soon as he and his colleagues realized how popular the original series was. It was released by House Industries in 2004.
- Neutraface No. 2 is a revision of Neutraface made by Schwartz in response to what he perceived to be a demand for a "more 'normal' Neutraface". It is described by Schwartz as a "director's cut" of the original typeface, with the main change being its raised crossbars. Neutraface No. 2 was released by House Industries in 2007.
- Neutraface Slab is a combination of Neutraface No. 2 with a slab serifSlab serifIn typography, a slab serif typeface is a type of serif typeface characterized by thick, block-like serifs. Serif terminals may be either blunt and angular , or rounded . Slab serif typefaces generally have no bracket...
style. The concept originated as joke but when Schwartz proposed the idea to House Industries, they convinced him to follow through with the concept. The development of Neutraface Slab by Schwartz, Kai Bernau and Susana Carvalho began in 2005 and it was released by House Industries in 2009 in both text and display weights.
Usage
Neutraface is very widely used, and Schwartz has commented, "I can't leave my apartment without running into an ad for a new condo development using it, or a restaurant, or a new cookbook." Some examples of the usage of Neutraface are in the signage for the New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Shake Shack
Shake Shack
Shake Shack is a restaurant chain serving hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, milkshakes and similar foods. There are currently eleven restaurants within the chain, six in New York City. There are two more locations opening soon: one in Grand Central Terminal, and one in Downtown Brooklyn.The...
chain, book covers for Taschen
Taschen
Taschen is an art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. It began as Taschen Comics publishing Benedikt's extensive comic collection...
's Movie Icons series, advertising material for Wendy's
Wendy's
Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
fast food restaurants, and posters for the 2008 film Quantum of Solace.
Neutraface was also the subject of a parody video of Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
's song "Poker Face
Poker Face (Lady Gaga song)
"Poker Face" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga from her debut album, The Fame. Produced by RedOne, it was released as the album's second single in late 2008 for some markets and in early 2009 for the rest of the world...
" on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, titled "Neutra Face: An Ode On A Typeface".