UN-11: A Typographic Cosmology - Ben Schwartz

Part book-object, part specimen, part photobook: a conceptually idiosyncratic and formally elegant celebration of one of the most iconic typefaces from the 20th century

In 1961, IBM unveiled the Selectric Typewriter, featuring a revolutionary type "golf ball" that replaced the traditional typebar mechanism. To expand their font catalog and promote this new technology, IBM enlisted Adrian Frutiger to adapt his iconic Univers, modifying it to suit the machine's specific constraints and metrics. The result was an alternate version of Univers with unit-based spacing, marking an exciting and distinct departure from conventional monospaced type. To Frutiger, the font's charmingly uneven rhythm uniquely combined mechanical precision with a human touch.
In 2025, Source Type released a rare cut of the Swiss classic by Frutiger faithfully digitized and carefully re-engineered for today's typographic universe. Designed by Laurenz Brunner, this new UN-11 was received with considerable acclaim. Today, UN-11's idiosyncrasies stand out in a world of polished interfaces, rounded corners and total easing. The IBM Selectric "golfball" serves as the starting point for this book: a photographic series of objects that share intriguing formal and scalar similarities with it. The book itself is equally distinctive, taking the form of a miniature hardcover measuring approximately 2.5 × 3 inches.