FontShop AG, the renowned type foundry, conducted a survey based on historical relevance, sales at FontShop.com (opens in new tab), and aesthetic quality. With a few additions from the experts at Creative Bloq and Computer Arts magazine, the best fonts ever were selected for the new book, 100 Best Typefaces Ever.
Here we are counting down the 100 greatest fonts, but you can read interviews with some of the typefaces' creators, a brief history of type, the anatomy of a font, and much, much more in the book – find out how to get your copy in print or digital formats at the foot of this post.
But without further ado, here's the 97th best typeface ever...
97. ITC Bauhaus (opens in new tab)
- Edward Benguiat and Victor Caruso, 1975
Although ITC Bauhaus itself – the classic sans with its open-ended counterforms and curvaceous, rounded lines – was designed by Edward Benguiat and Victor Caruso in 1975, the origins of the typeface date back to 1925.
In that year, Austrian and American graphic designer Herbert Bayer designed Universal – an experimental typeface combining upper and lowercase characters into a single character set. Benguiat and Caruso took inspiration from Universal’s simple geometric shapes and stroke weights, creating the five-weight family.
The 100 Best Typefaces Ever
This is an extract from The 100 Best Typefaces Ever (opens in new tab), the definitive guide to the greatest fonts ever created, in association with FontShop AG. Over 180 premium pages, the book dissects the world's greatest typefaces, bringing you some insightful background on each and interviews with their creators.
You can pick up the book at all good newsagents today or order it online (opens in new tab). Or you can download a digital edition directly to your iPad from the Computer Arts app on iTunes (opens in new tab).