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From all these experiences the most important thing I have learned is that legibility and beauty stand close together and that type design, in its restraint, should be only felt but not perceived by the reader.
Adrian Frutiger
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Legibility and beauty in design are closely connected, and good type design should be effortlessly intuitive.

Adrian Frutiger emphasizes the significance of balancing legibility and aesthetic beauty in typographic design. He argues that while both elements are vital, the impact of type should be subtle enough that the reader engages with the content without being distracted by the design itself.

Themes

DesignTypographyLegibilityBeautyAesthetics

In practice

Example use cases

During a presentation on graphic design principles, this quote can illustrate the harmony between form and function.

More from Adrian Frutiger

If you remember the shape of your spoon at lunch, it has to be the wrong shape. The spoon and the letter are tools; one to take food from the bowl, the other to take information off the page... When it is a good design, the reader has to feel comfortable because the letter is both banal and beautiful.
Adrian FrutigerRead

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