Lange was instrumental in developing the Akzidenz-Grotesk program at Berthold in the 1950s and 1960s. Under the direction of Günter Gerhard Lange, Berthold added AG Medium Italic (1963), AG ExtraBold (1966), AG Italic (1967), AG ExtraBold Condensed & Italic (1968), AG Super (1968). In the 1950s Günter Gerhard Lange, then art director at Berthold, began a project to enlarge the typeface family, adding a larger character set, but retaining all of the idiosyncrasies of the 1898 face.

The Theinhardt foundry later merged with Berthold and also supplied the regular, medium and bold weights. Originally named “Accidenz-Grotesk” the design originates from Royal Grotesk light by royal type-cutter Ferdinand Theinhardt. Tobias Battenberg has created an interesting series of projections using Akzidenz-Grotesk.Berthold first published Akzidenz-Grotesk in 1898. It later got replaced by Helvetica because that font has a J that is easier to distinguish. It was also used for signage in the New York subway system during the seventies. The American Red Cross uses Akzidenz-Grotesk in its logo and as one of its corporate fonts. The 2007 Akzidenz-Grotesk Pro+ update also contains Cyrillic and Greek characters. Over the years additional styles got added.Īkzidenz-Grotesk Pro is an OpenType version that was launched in 2006. Berthold AG type foundry released the first version of Akzidenz-Grotesk under the name Accidenz-Grotesk. That typeface was designed around 1880 for setting the body copy of scientific publications. Its direct precursor is Royal Grotesk, created by German typographer Ferdinand Theinhardt. It is inspired by the Walbaum and Didot typefaces. The design of Akzidenz Grotesk cannot be attributed to a specific typographer.

Using Linotype’s Basic Commercial is another option. Since Akzidenz Grotesk served as the source of inspiration for many other sans-serif fonts such as Helvetica, Univers, and Folio, these can be considered valid alternatives. This adds to the versatility of the font. A wide range of typefaces is available, such as light, extra bold, and condensed versions. It is a solid but rather expensive choice for setting body text and head titles. Despite its age, Akzidenz-Grotesk has a clean and modern look.

Akzidenz grotesk typeface