We last saw Gerard Unger at ATypI 2018 in Antwerp. Though barely a half-step slower, he was still his usual joyful self, both pensive and positive. He shared with us the seriousness of his health, the uncertainty, and his hope. He was a bright and deep soul with the gift of wit, the desire to help others, and compassion for all. We enjoyed him and cared for him immensely, and we did not know how short our time together was. Five years on, it seems so long ago and still just a blink.

Gerard was an accomplished type designer with an eye for real solutions. Setting lines of text next to each other in his typefaces will also reveal an unmistakeable sense of style, purpose, and forethought. So perceptive was he that he was able to turn the shortest of typographic histories into one of the most readable and unique typefaces, Alverata , as part of his doctoral work and research into readability studies. He followed this up with Sanserata, a further expansion of aesthetic expression and readable text.

Gerard’s magnum opus, Theory of type design, is the preeminent guide on why typefaces work and how to design them effectively. Burke’s book, Life in letters, dives into Unger’s professional life, design perspectives, and productivity. And of course, his many typefaces are best viewed as perpetual inspiration, trustworthy guides, and in their actual use: Alverata, Capitolium 2, Coranto 2, Sanserata, and other classics like Swift and Gulliver.

For quite some time prior to Gerard’s passing, we had already been discussing as a team how to honour such a magnanimous friend, yet nothing seemed enough. We knew we wanted to equally highlight his design skills as well as his life vision, so recasting our mentorship programme in his honour seemed the right choice. In this way, the younger generation would receive the same kind of hands-on mentoring and partnership we received from Gerard, gain the benefits of being propelled into their desired career, and the encouragement that comes from seeing the best in others. To this day the Gerard Unger Scholarship continues to mentor promising young type designers with the same commitment, positivity, and excellence Gerard helped to ingrain in us.

Once again we honour our friend and colleague Dr Gerard Unger, one of the many who set our trajectory early on. He believed in us, saw our potential, encouraged us, trusted us to work alongside him in releasing his typefaces, and now we get to do the same for others.

In memoriam, always,

A grateful TypeTogether team

READ THE STORY BEHIND ALVERATA