

Adrain Frutiger is Swiss typeface designer and is one of the most important designers of the time. He was born in Interlaken, Switzerland on May 24, 1928. When he was a child he experimented with invented scripts and stylized handwriting in disapproving response to formal writing because Swiss schools then required cursive penmanship. He wanted to study sculpture but his father and schoolteachers were unenthusiastic about it and wanted him to work in printing. His passion for sculpture has influenced him in his type work. At 16 he was the apprentice of the printer Otto Schaerffli, for 4 years, as a compositor. He began to work at Deberny and Peignot foundry, at which he invented a few typefaces that got him recognized and Peignot gave him the job to convert the extant typeface for the new phototypesetting. In 1957 he invented, the most notable, type face Univers. This typeface changed how fonts were organized and titled by using a two number system in which the first set defines weight, while the second defines width and position. He has created several other typefaces that have gained him world recognition; his fonts are the most widely known and used, however Univers is the most notable.
Reference:
"Adrian Frutiger." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 07 Sept. 2010.
What makes Univers “unique” is the classification system that removes naming and specification confusion. There is a two number system and the first set defines weight, while the second defines width and position.
Univers Grid:
The grid is an interrelated typeface system. It shows how each variation differs slightly to get to the next. It consists of 21 typefaces.
Grid - consists of a distinct set of alignment-based relationships that serves as a guide for distributing elements across a format.
Using a grid permits a designer to lay out enormous amounts of information in substantially less time because many of the design considerations have been addressed in building grid structure. The grid also allows many individuals to collaborate on the same project or on series of related projects over time, without compromising established visual qualities from one project to the next.
Modular Grid - a grid with four columns and four rows.
Margins - the negative spaces between the format edge and the content, which surround and define the live area where type and images will be arranged.
Columns - vertical alignments of a type that create horizontal divisions between the margins.
Modules - individual units of space separated by regular intervals that, when repeated across the page format, create columns and rows.
Flowlines - alignments that break the space into horizontal bands.
Gutter - the blank space between adjacent columns.
An example of a grid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Grid1aib.svg
Hierarchy – order that allows the viewer to enter the typography space and navigate it, the order is based on the level of importance the designer assigns to each part of the text.
Typographic Color – it is the changes in lightness and darkness, or value, not hue. Also it describes the changes in rhythm and texture. It allows the eye to perceive the text as occupying different in locations in illusionary space.
One way to achieve clear hierarchy is through is using typographic color. Manipulating the spaces around and between text, the designer creates levels of importance. By shifting a specific item out of alignment, attention is called to it and it alerts the viewer of its importance. The use of scale change also indicates the level of importance.