Futura ND

Designer: (Paul Renner) Marie-Therésè Koreman // Foundry: (Bauer Type Foundry) Neufville // Country of origin: (Germany) Spain // Release years: (1927) 1999–2012 // Classification: Geometric Sans

Futura has become widely known as the prototypical Geometric typeface. Bauhaus experiments in geometric form led Paul Renner to develop a typeface that was initially made entirely of straight lines and circular shapes. This was eventually tamed into more conventional letterforms, but they remained mostly Geometric. Futura’s capitals are based on classical proportions, explaining their variable widths. There are countless digital versions, but Futura ND comes directly from original sources, and the latest release includes alternatives previously unavailable. Caution: the protrusion of pointed apexes (“M,” “N,” “w”) is called “overshoot,” an optical compensation for type intended for Text sizes, but potentially distracting when large.