The History of Linear, Sans Serif Typefaces  By Adrian Frutiger
Much has been written about the evolution of type: how the forms
of our letters took shape, from the roman capitals to the
Carolingian minuscules, and how the Latin alphabet was then,
essentially, finalized for eternity by the first printing
presses of the Renaissance Age.  Looking back from where we
stand now, we could say that the original forms of our uppercase
letters are around 2,000 years old, while those of our lowercase
letters would be over 1,000 years old. And in the last 500
years, neither case has changed in its basic forms. But what has
constantly changed are the outlines of the letters, influenced
by new inventions in reproduction but also by the unique spirit
of each epoch.  Since the invention of sans serif typefaces over
a century ago, many new stylistic forms have already emerged. In
the following pages, we will attempt to explain the formal
transformations which took place and provide a framework for
understanding the developm