Germany�s new government typefaces

Bad Homburg, March 1st, 2004, Dutch designer Gerard Unger’s Demos and Praxis are now the official typefaces for the German government for use in all government communications.

The typefaces have now been adapted and extended for the specific requirements of governmental communication to become Neue Demos and Neue Praxis.

As part of its development work on the government�s corporate design, the Hannover-based advertising agency Odeon Zwo chose two new typefaces � Demos and Praxis � for use in all government communications. Both typefaces now play a major role in the government�s visual presentation, which is new, modern and above all, consistent. Both Demos (an antiqua typeface) and Praxis (a grotesque or sans-serif) were originally created by Dutch designer Gerard Unger in 1976 and 1977 for the company Hell, which was later acquired by Linotype. The typefaces have now been adapted and extended for the specific requirements of governmental communication.

Neue Demos comes in four weights: Regular, Italic, Bold and Small Caps. Each weight is available in three different character sets � international, eastern European and Turkish. Neue Praxis comes in Regular and Bold weights, again in international, eastern European and Turkish character sets. The grand total of 23 fonts also includes additional special characters, symbols and chart numerals.

The government�s typography is rounded off by the classic functionality of Univers 57 Condensed. This Linotype original typeface, created by Swiss designer Adrian Frutiger in 1957, acts as a typographical counterpoint to the strength and elegance of Neue Demos and Neue Praxis. Whereas Demos and Praxis are used for the actual content of correspondence, brochures and advertisements, Univers is used for the logotypes of the government and its departments. Univers is also licensed from Linotype Library.

Linotype Library is the licenser of the German government�s new corporate design typefaces. The license agreement for the two typefaces Neue Demos and Neue Praxis covers the requirements of all 13 Federal Ministries, the Chancellor�s Office and the Press and Information Bureau. Licenses are also available for designers or advertising agencies who provide services to the government.

Original release from Linotype.

See also Times New Roman