The Polite Revolutionist
The Brief
To design a special publication that celebrates the life and work of Adrian Frutiger; a prolific type designer designer who passed away in 2015.
Interpretation
The title, The Polite Revolutionist, is an oxymoron, to reflect Adrian Frutiger’s talent for bringing harmonious balance to seemingly uncompromising opposites.
Most people associate Adrian Frutiger with well-known fonts like Univers or Frutiger. But Adrian Frutiger never designed with the intention of being commercially successful. It was always to fulfill an honest need. Furthermore, Frutiger's reflections on typography are deeply insightful. He takes this complex subject and simplifies it through accessible analogies. It takes a great mind to be able to do that.
I wanted to design a publication that showcased Frutiger’s unique insights, as well as how they have been translated into his designs. Through this, people could come to appreciate typography through his eyes. It was also my hope that people would see Frutiger’s genius as well as his modesty, and perhaps also be inspired by the person that he was.
The book is told through the eyes of a narrator who is an avid admirer of Frutiger. He is proud, borderline disdainful, for being in the know about Frutiger’s revolutionary contribution to typography. The book is the narrator acting upon his conviction that Frutiger’s “revolution” can no longer remain in the shadows. He has taken it upon himself to write about it. as Frutiger was too polite to do it himself.
The Brief
To design a special publication that celebrates the life and work of Adrian Frutiger; a prolific type designer designer who passed away in 2015.
Interpretation
The title, The Polite Revolutionist, is an oxymoron, to reflect Adrian Frutiger’s talent for bringing harmonious balance to seemingly uncompromising opposites.
Most people associate Adrian Frutiger with well-known fonts like Univers or Frutiger. But Adrian Frutiger never designed with the intention of being commercially successful. It was always to fulfill an honest need. Furthermore, Frutiger's reflections on typography are deeply insightful. He takes this complex subject and simplifies it through accessible analogies. It takes a great mind to be able to do that.
I wanted to design a publication that showcased Frutiger’s unique insights, as well as how they have been translated into his designs. Through this, people could come to appreciate typography through his eyes. It was also my hope that people would see Frutiger’s genius as well as his modesty, and perhaps also be inspired by the person that he was.
The book is told through the eyes of a narrator who is an avid admirer of Frutiger. He is proud, borderline disdainful, for being in the know about Frutiger’s revolutionary contribution to typography. The book is the narrator acting upon his conviction that Frutiger’s “revolution” can no longer remain in the shadows. He has taken it upon himself to write about it. as Frutiger was too polite to do it himself.
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Photographs by Janith Lekamwasam - See his profile
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