Sadly Universal was never cast as a font, as during that era they weren't manufactured into printing typefaces, and the designs would only exist as drafts (as was the case with all Bauhaus-typefaces). Bayer developed multiple revisions and variations of the alphabet. Bayer's original Universal alphabet also eliminated the need for a upper case letter, further simplifying it towards more of a functionality-driven standardization. Some key features in Bayer's original form are those easily recognizable geometric sans-serif letterings, with letter composition based on strong basic geometry, having eliminated all decorative elements of the letterform composition for that crisp industrial, slight mechanical minimalist aesthetic.
It was also used for the new Bauhaus-building signage. The alphabet he designed became somewhat synonymous with the school's identity, and probably is the most well known Bauhaus typeface, and truly epitomizing that typical simplified "Form follows function" Bauhaus-minimalism style. More specifically by Austrian artistic polymath Herbert Bayer's 1925 experimental "Universal" alphabet. As a result, Bandit is a modern, cross-continental typeface which will leave its mark wherever it is used.Fauxhaus - Geometric minimalist modernism sans-serif designĪs the name already suggests, this indeed was inspired by the Bauhaus-typograpy towards functionality style. These Swiss origins were observed through an American lens which coloured their appearance. The 1950s typeface is an inverted slab serif of the genre known as “Italienne” which looks like a more constructed version of Robert Harling’s Playbill.⁵ Its combination of geometric and modular shapes is also to be found in Bandit’s DNA. Lastly, Miedinger’s Pro Arte⁴ is a slightly younger forebear. Bill’s soft spot for wood type as well as his original modular letterings were particularly influential for the development of Bandit. Another grandfather of Swiss design, Max Bill not only used condensed slab typefaces early on² but also developed his own letterings, for instance in the “Wohnausstellung Neubühl”³ poster which is linked with the “Neues Bauen” architectural movement. More mundanely, virtually everyone in Switzerland has used their trousers on the company’s furniture for schools, municipal halls or canteens.
In the 1930s, Gauchat developed a lettering style for one of his main clients, the Swiss furniture company Embru,¹ which has produced now-classic pieces by Alvar Aalto, Marcel Breuer and Flora Steiger-Crawford. Bandit’s “famiglia” includes Pierre Gauchat, Max Bill and Max Miedinger.
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