They found them in a file locker . The original masters for a fabled typeface call Haas Unica , designed in the late 1970s and killed shortly thereafter by what amounts to bad luck — and the digital years .
The person who found them wasDan Rhatigan , the Director of Type at the foundryMonotype . He was actually looking for old material to includein an exhibition about the transitionfrom traditional font to digital one . But in the process , he had unintentionally uncovered a recede typeface that perfectly encapsulates that story .
Today , Monotype isreleasing Unicaas aweb fontafter spending almost 40 days nearly forgotten — and it could rival giant like Helvetica and Univers , as it was originally designed to do .
Ancient History
So , what exactly happened to Unica ? Why is n’t it the household name Helvetica or Univers are today ? “ The twentieth century is filled with lots of misplace face , ” Rhatigan told me today . “ In the case of Unica , it was an unfortunate bit of timing . ”
A phototypesetting motorcar byDerivat graphical record .
It all begin in the 1970s , when a proficiency called Phototypesetting overtook traditional metal as the path most foundries made their font . It crop a bit like developing a pic in a darkroom ; the film letters could be enlarged to the perfect sizing , then twinkle would let on the space around them to create an imprint . It was the bridge engineering science between traditional alloy typesetting and the digital eld , where character is made up of pixels . And alas , it did n’t last very long .
And it was during those forgetful years when Phototypesetting reigned , a foundry scream Haas Type lay out to contrive an alternative to the teras hits of Helvetica and Univers . Both typefaces had enjoyed massive success for ten ( as they have since ) , but Haas had the theme of creating a 3rd design based on the two . It tapped a deuce-ace of designers recognise as Team ’ 77 to make a lovely choice to two of the most pop ( and some would say overuse ) typefaces of the 20the century .
What resulted was a crossbreed called Haas Unica . It was n’t quite as precious as Helvetica — it has fewer detail that some call “ mannered , ” the affair that make Helvetica so instantly recognizable . But it also has a little more personality than the coolheaded , calm Univers , seen on the rightfulness above .
Even its name was a combination of its two predecessors . It was a hit amongst room decorator , too . “ The inside information were just beautiful , ” articulate Rhatigan . It was “ Univers with a heart , Helvetica with a soul , ” as the designers Beatriz Cifuentes and Yoshiki Waterhouse say in a release today .
Unfortunately , it was also destined to pall an early destruction .
The Computer Age
The invention of the computer not only skyrocketed certain typefaces to household status ( hello , Wingdings ! ) , it break others in the dusty chronological record of ancient history . Like Unica .
“ It passed down through a chain of companies that are part of the murky history of eccentric foundries in the 20th one C , ” says Rhatigan . Smaller foundries went out of business , their portfolio were occupy by big companies , and decisions were made about what to digitalise and what to leave in the pre - computer era . Some face — especially new , unproven ace like Unica — didn’t make the cutting .
Through a long and contrived series of outcome , Unica ended up being have by Monotype . It had simply fallen through the crack thanks to diligence - all-inclusive turmoil and technological upheaval . In the year that followed , it never quite evaporate completely . “ Most character designers know if it , ” Rhatigan tells me , and perhaps its inaccessibility even increased the closed book surrounding it .
After Rhatigan pulled the original film out of the cabinet , he turn it over to a room decorator named Toshi Omagari , who has spent the preceding few years redeveloping it and build on the original “ aim ” of its seventies designers . Today , the company is sell a World Wide Web font version of it — Neue Haas Unica — in the very data formatting that could have easily launched it to the same kind of global resurgence that Helvetica and Univers have enjoyed since the 1980s .
“ Monotype is in a unique position because it ’s so large , and we ’re comprise of so many other foundries that have existed over the years , ” Rhatigan adds . What other half - forget legends are stuffed into cabinets andinto basement archive ? Only time will assure .
connect with the author at[email protected ] .
Design
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