Adrian Frutiger

According to Eye magazine, Frutiger completed a compositor apprenticeship in Interlaken and then studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich from 1949 to 1951.² In 1952, Charles Peignot of the type foundry Deberny & Peignot hired him as an artistic director, according to Eye magazine.²

Eye magazine reports that his typeface Méridien (1954) received initial acclaim and that he designed the Univers sans-serif family between 1954 and 1957, which established his international reputation.² In 1960, he established a design studio with André Gürtler and Bruno Pfäffli, and his commissions included logotypes, signage systems, and maps for clients such as Air France, IBM, and the Swiss Post Office, according to Eye magazine.² A TypeDrawers memorial describes his upright-contrast serif typefaces—Centennial, Didot, and Iridium—as consequent yet always friendly, never mechanical.⁴

Eye magazine lists his honours as the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the Gutenberg Prize of Mainz, and the Type Directors Club of New York's Type Medal in 1986.² A TypeDrawers memorial states that he died on 12 September 2015 at the age of 87, while a comment citing a Linotype tweet says he died early on 10 September 2015.⁴