A Guide to Frutiger

A Guide to Frutiger

I see a lot of people mistake Frutiger Aqua for Frutiger Aero, and this inspired me to make a blog on Frutiger, what it is, and its beautiful variations. All info is pulled from Aesthetics Wiki

What is Frutiger?  [ˈfruːtɪɡər]

• It all begins with Adrian Frutiger, a type designer that created the Frutiger font in 1976. This typeface is best described as clear and highly legible at a distance or reading small text sizes.

Why is the Frutiger Typeface Important?

• The Frutiger typeface was utilized in products in the 1990s and Y2K era like Windows Aero and internet interfaces. This is when we see Frutiger Aero make its appearance.

Frutiger Aero

• Frutiger Aero is derived from the usage of the Frutiger typeface and Windows Aero. Aero is an acronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open. Frutiger Aero saw its decline in 2012 when Windows started to favor a Metro aesthetic with their interface. 
• Frutiger Aero as an aesthetic has key notes of Skeuomorphism (design concept of making items resemble their real-world counterparts, i.e. Apple IOS’ app icons), tropical fish, water, bubbles, glossy textures, uses of greens and blues, clouds, nature, vibrancy, and Frutiger fonts. The term “Frutiger Aero” was coined by Sofi Lee in 2017.
• Key Motifs: Skeuomorphism, glossy textures, “humanism”, use of nature, bokeh, bubbles, Frutiger fonts, glass, auroras
• Key Colors: Blue, green, white

Frutiger Aurora

• Frutiger Aurora (also known as Frutiger Borealis) is a subgenre of Frutiger Aero, that focuses on visuals of an aurora borealis. Its key motifs are xyz. This aesthetic was popularized in the early 2000s and lost its popularity towards the end of the 2010s.
• Key Motifs: Auroras, beams of lights, Bokeh, lens flare, gradients

Frutiger Eco

• Frutiger Eco is a subgenre of Frutiger Aero that focuses on renewable energy and nature while simultaneously having futuristic themes, technology, and architecture designed around sustainability. Frutiger Eco was popularized in the mid 2000s and early 2010s.
• Key Motifs: Solar panels, Earth imagery, trees & plants, water, futuristic architecture
• Key Colors: Green, teal, white, blue, yellow
• Key Values: Sustainability, futurism

Frutiger Metro

• Frutiger Metro (also known as Vector Metro) is a subgenre of Frutiger Aero that focuses on broad design with glossy textures, abstract flourishes, humanism, nature, gradient, block, and bloom elements. This aesthetic typically caters toward pre-teens/teenagers. Frutiger Metro shares many similarities with Frutiger Aero, however unlike Aero, Frutiger Metro is flat and 2-D. This aesthetic was popularized in the mid 2000s (2004) and showed decline around 2012-2017.
• Key Motifs: Flowers, Vector-based shapes and patterns, gradient blocks, “humanism”, grass, stars, splats, human silhouettes, animals (especially butterflies), instruments, speakers, DJ mixers, headphones
• Key Colors: Rainbow

Helvetica Aqua Aero (Frutiger Aqua)

• Frutiger Aqua is a subgenre of Frutiger Aero and is commonly misinterpreted as Frutiger Aero itself. The main differences between Frutiger Aero and Aqua is that Aqua focuses on more aquatic themes whereas Aero is more centered around nature and tech. Frutiger Aqua is described as a mix between Tropicalcore and Frutiger Aero, combining both elements into one subgenre. This aesthetic was popularized in the late 2000s and lost popularity around 2010. This is one of the most commonly known aesthetics, often being advertised in everyday items such as soap, toys, and interior design,
• Key Motifs: Ocean, shore, fish, bubbles, water, waves, coral reefs, rainbows, other beach environment elements
• Key Colors: Blue, teal, lime green, aquamarine, yellow

These are just a few of the various Frutiger Aero subgenres, and I encourage you to do more research if your favorite Frutiger aesthetic wasn’t mentioned in this blog. The Aesthetics Wiki has great details of every aesthetic under the sun, so I recommend searching there. Thank you for reading!

Joan.