Akzidenz Grotesk

"It is the work of anonymous typecutters: craftsmen, specialists, whose professional background and experience meant they were familiar with the finest subtleties and principles, and not just those of Grotesque. They gave Akzidenz-Grotesk the ultimate accolade a typeface can have: a functional, formal rightness, transcending the whims of fashion."
-- Karl Gerstner

Akzidenz-Grotesk has been one of the world’s most influential typefaces and one with one of the greatest legacies. Widely accepted and the first Sans Serif to be broadly distributed, Akzidenz was released in 1896 by Berlin based Type foundry, H.G. Berthold. It was used directly by Max Miedinger when designing the typeface Neue Haas Grotesk in 1957, while attempting to render the typeface more ‘even & unified.’ Neue Haas Grotesk was three years later, renamed Helvetica and instantly shot to superstardom receiving both extensive popularity and universal acclaim. Other typefaces released around the same time, Univers and Bauer by Adrian Fruitiger and Folio by Baum are also heavily inspired by Akzidenz-Grotesk

Akzidenz-Grotesk as its name would suggest is a Grotesque (early sans-serif.) typeface. As with most sans serifs, Akzidenz is more typically used for short and simple phrases such as headlines. This is due the fact that serifs help direct the eye along larger bodies of texts and sans serifs are more usually blacker. It is more tolerable to use san-serif type for considerable blocks of text in Europe. (Oh, Europe.)

Because of their similarities, it is unavoidable when critiquing Akzidenz to not mention its much more famous, younger brother, Helvetica. Akzidenz is overall, more condensed. Even though the more circular letters like C, G, O, and Q are wider and more geometric than in Helvetica. Both do have in common the unusual perpendicular bar on the uppercase G. The decenders on Akzidenz’s j does not return quite so vertically as Helvitica’s and Akzidenz has a smaller x-height. Both typefaces come in an extensive variety of weights, condensed and expanded forms. Considering their similarities you might say, “There’s no need to use another typeface so alike to Helvetica. Helvetica is fantastic. It’s The Beatles of typefaces.”

And you’d be right. It is The Beatles of typefaces…

…but The Beatles, let Ringo sing a song on every album.

And in Max Miedinger’s masterpiece Helvetica, Ring Starr sings lead vocals on track 18: “Uppercase R.”

While some find the oppressive, vulgar tail on Helvetica's upper case R charming, it is undoubtedly the soft exposed flesh underneath Helvetica’s 25 character steel breastplate. Although there is little honour is exposing the weaknesses of others only to make oneself seem superior by comparison; Akzidenz’s relationship with it’s immediately family is bitter, petty and ultimately leads to half-drunken snide remarks during Christmas Dinner.

Akzidenz-Grotesque is an archetype of typographic design. Its almost faultless construction has remained constantly relevant over a century later. And although it might too often be upstaged, Akzidenz will always, have a leading role in my heart.

-B Marriott

References:
< http://www.behance.net/gallery/A-Grotesk-Love-Affair/1339317>

< http://www.linotype.com/en/795/thesansseriftypefaces.html?PHPSESSID=fe21705bd465507fdbeb66a41015eb7d>

< http://www.rightreading.com/typehead/akzidenz_grotesque.htm>

< http://www.bastoky.com/HistoricClasses.htm>

< http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature.php?id=143&fid=613>

< http://www.microsoft.com/typography/links/news.aspx?NID=5711>