I believe this is the first time I've caused a controversy... Unless we count the time my mom thought I shoplifted... but I finally found the receipt, so all ended well.

Long before the Unica document appeared on Flickr, I had been trying to think of any possible party or individual that I would harm by this display. It is SUCH a beautiful reference to the meticulous care and thought behind the development of this type. To me, it is too lush an educational/inspirational resource to hoard to myself. I come from a long line of hoarders, so this was a big deal for me.

I will, of course, remove the document if any relevant legal body says the word, or if I discover someone that I AM presently harming by this. That is very much a concern of mine.

I do have to commend you, Uli, on your rabid advocacy. Perhaps it is naive, but I do find a sizable difference between making this near-thirty-year-old extinct document readable for the internet community, versus setting up a download of the potentially-commercially-viable Unica font files. If I discover ANY applicable individuals that I am harming by doing what I am doing, I will most CERTAINLY remove the display.

I'm not trying to be a dirty pirate to get the attention I never got in junior high. I don't want "atta-boy" credit for this. My intentions are of the purest. I just want type lovers to have the chance to breathe in the mastery and impressively shrewd attention that went into this imprisoned face. This was to be a sort-of Helvetica 2, and that feat just BEGS to be recognized... ESPECIALLY in light of Unica's hibernation.

Thanks to all for your support.

Joe "Sybil" Bauldoff

Mr. Joe Bauldoff:

I will, of course, remove the document if any relevant legal body says...

This would be futile, since other internet users grapped the copyrighted monograph uploaded by Mr. Bauldoff and have already made it available for download at other websites. And e.g. a certain Mr. Philip Sterne now offers the copyrighted monograph as a PDF file made on the basis of Mr. Bauldoff's scans. See here:

http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/pjs67/FromHelveticaToHaasUnica.pdf

The famous old Latin proverb

"Et semel emissum volat irrevocabile..."

("Once it has been sent flying out, it cannot be called back")

is particularly true for those who upload copyrighted works to the internet without permission by the authors of these works.

For instance, in this way, by uploading to the internet, the huge font collections, e.g. Linotype's Gold Edition, Adobe's Font Folio, Scangraphic's rip-off collection (including the Haas Unica font), etc. etc., are now available to everyone for free download, in the very same way as the Hass Unica monograph uploaded by Mr. Baulhoff: "Et semel emissum volat irrevocabile..."

^ now you’ve posted a link to the pdf yourself, but I guess that is fair use because the intent was educational?

Halp!

@Eben: You're right, that is an interesting article when they document the letter-by-letter improvements. To my eye they've given the G an overbite, but otherwise they look like thoughtful edits. Like you, I think a closer comparison to Univers would be interesting. Do you think the name Unica was intended to evoke UNIvers?

Oh, of course, duh on me.

Then I wonder if the brief was to create a Helvetica/Univers hybrid, but the article spins it more as an improved Helvetica (though Univers is considered in the first part).

Eben is quite right - this is the commonplace error of using "schizophrenia" to mean "multiple personality disorder." Two quite different, unrelated things.

But then, accurate usage of language has never been a concern of Uli's. I wonder how long it will be before a person or corporation either threatens to sue him for libel, or actually does so? (Not that I'd encourage such an action. Most of us have better things to do with our time, and even if one was victorious, the satisfaction/damages would not likely be worth the cost.)

Cheers,

T

Unica was designed to make a better Helvetica… but we're talking about the old Helvetica right ? Not the Neue version ?

Florian, maybe Unnicca?

Yunyka spells just right

BTW, if Linotype gets away with selling "Basic Commercial", which is a renamed clone of Akzidenz Grotesk, they might just go ahead and invent a new name for Unica.

Helvers? ;)

A.

In Office Space tradition...

Hass Clown

Adam: which is a renamed clone of Akzidenz Grotesk

A clone? I thought it actually is AG, at least that is what you wrote.

Btw, you now can purchase the Berthold AG from Linotype, too.

Adam, have you been hanging out with Uli?

Hmmm, that means you're not really Adam. ;-)

hhp

Hi,

I am one of very few to be lucky to purchase on time from Fontshop in Berlin Haas Unica. I was in 2000. Since mid 80; I was using it in my corporate designs, ID etc. When I'd heard about Mac version I immediately bought Unica. My Swiss typography teacher from Zurich Mr Paul Buhlmann recommended me Unica as a mix of Universe and Helvetica elements. I have never came across of any designer using Unica. Yes it was Team 77. Note: Unica is not in sale anymore.

regards,
Lech

http://www.swiss-miss.com/2008/04/from-helvetic-1.html

http://ministryoftype.co.uk/words/article/haas_unica/

http://typedia.com/explore/typeface/haas-unica/

Hrant:

> Those links point to a PDF and a set of hi-res images of the entire Unica specimen booklet. Since that specimen was published in Typografische Monatsblatter, aren't those copyright violations?

While the reproduction of the alphabet is not copyrightable, the German-English-French descriptions contained in the booklet reproduced here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bauldoff/sets/72157604393470536/

are copyrightable as a literary work:

see US Copyright Act, § 102 (a) (1): Literary Works

Impressive.

hhp

I removed the spam link and blocked the account, but I left the post because Hrant’s right: it truly is an impressive piece of hand-crafted spamming. ;-)

With regards to versions - there WERE 2 versions by Scangraphic 1 for body text and one for headlines which was kerned really close. (I dont know if there were any other modificartions)

SB = Scangraphic Body
SH = Scangraphic Headline

hernan

Scangraphic's SH was letter-spaced tightly (like Hernan says "really close", it is indeed really close; a bit too much for today's taste). Apart from this letter-spacing difference, the SB bears those little notches/adjustment (खाचाखळगा)... I'm forgetting what they're called in English... ink-traps ??

RG