URW Grotesk was designed by Hermann Zapf (pronounced “dzahff”) in 1985 for URW, currently headquartered in Hamburg, Germany.
Born on November 8, 1918 in Nuremberg, Germany, three days before the end of World War I and right in the middle of the Spanish Flu Pandemic that plagued Europe, Hermann Zapf’s early life was extremely turbulent, to say the least. He tragically lost two siblings to the Spanish Flu and lived through famine during his formative school years. In the 1930s, his father, a union organizer, unfortunately found himself in the crosshairs of the Nazi Party and was briefly imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp, the first Nazi concentration camp in Germany.
In spite of the terrible cards dealt to his family, Hermann Zapf went on to become a prolific type designer whose illustrious career would span several decades and three eras of printing, including hot metal composition, phototypesetting, and digital design. And it’s no wonder why he sought this creative profession, as his love for type extended back to his youth, when he first invented alphabets designed for exchanging coded messages with his brother. Zapf passed away on June 4, 2015 at the age of 96, however his legacy of elegant letter design will live on forever.
In addition to URW Grotesk, Zapf’s best-known typefaces are Optima and Palatino. He was a self-taught, expert calligrapher; there’s likely not a designer anywhere unfamiliar with his namesake calligraphy font, Zapfino.
Zapf’s URW Grotesk is a sans-serif that was originally designed for use in newspapers. It features 59 font weights, making it one of the most complete collections ever made. Ranging from Extra Light and Narrow, all the way to Extra Wide, this font family offers bold, italic, and oblique variations throughout.
Where an oblique typeface is merely a slanted version of the original font with no significant changes beyond the typical 8-12 degree incline, an italic typeface is an altogether separate design featuring letterforms that are distinctly different from the original. It is rare for a font family to offer both italic and oblique variations, as font designers typically choose one or the other, and it’s one of the most impressive qualities of URW Grotesk.
This extensive font family offers a substantial variety of weights at an unbelievable price, giving studios and individual designers an incredible bang for their buck. Whether your design focuses on print or digital media, URW Grotesk is perfect for a wide variety of applications.
URW Grotesk Extra Light is delicate in weight, yet it makes a striking impact with its beautifully rounded lines. This polished font is particularly effective when paired with imagery meant to influence the viewer in a positive way. It is an ideal finishing touch on motivational and inspirational pieces of digital art.
URW Grotesk Extra Wide Bold is the polar opposite of Extra Light, lending an incredibly dramatic flair to fashion advertisements in both print and digital media. It is an undeniable and serious, in-your-face font, particularly when presented in capital letters.
For newspaper and newsletter applications, URW Grotesk offers many attractive options for headline text. Condensed Bold, Extra Narrow Medium, and Wide Bold are particularly ideal for eye-catching titles in both print and digital news media. With so many weights to choose from, designers will find exactly what they need for headlines, subheadings, and body texts.
In addition to the variety of upper and lowercase lettering within the font family, URW Grotesk also offers two complete capital letter (small caps) typefaces. With Grotesk SC and Grotesk SC Light, shifted, “upper case” letters are noticeably larger than their “lower case” counterparts. The result is an elegant capitalized set appropriate for headlines, advertisements, book cover designs, and so much more.
This complete font family is available for an unbeatable price. For more information about URW Grotesk, contact us today.
