Rotis is a typeface developed in 1988 by Otl Aicher, a German graphic designer and typographer. In Rotis, Aicher explores an attempt at maximum legibility through a highly unified yet varied typeface family that ranges from full serif, glyphic, and sans-serif. The four basic Rotis variants are:
Rotis semi-sans — with zero serifs but with stroke width variation
Rotis sans — with zero serifs and with minimal variation on stroke width
Monotype Originals Rotis versions
When the Rotis fonts were reissued under the Monotype Originals label, the fonts support include support of ISO Adobe 2 character set, OpenType features. The Rotis font names are capitalized.
Rotis Serif
It includes 55 Roman, 56 Italic, 65 Bold fonts.
Rotis Semi Sans
It includes 45 Light, 46 Light Italic, 55 Roman, 56 Italic, 65 Bold, 75 Extra Bold fonts.
Rotis Pro
It includes support of ISO Adobe 2, Adobe CE, Latin Extended characters. In addition, separate fonts for Greek and Cyrillic characters were also created. Greek and Cyrillic fonts support ISO Adobe 2 and Latin Extended characters, and support super/sub-script OpenType feature.
Rotis II Sans (2011)
It is a version of Rotis Sans designed by Monotype Imaging senior designer Robin Nicholas, and freelance designer Alice Savoie. It expands the original with extra three font weights and italics, along with revised letter spacing and kerning, a new set of numerals with similar height to the capitals. The family includes 14 fonts in seven weights, with complementary italics. OpenType features include access all alternates, case-sensitive forms, numerators/denominators, fractions, standard ligatures, localized forms, proportional/tabular figures, scientific inferiors, superscript/subscript, stylistic alternates, stylistic sets 1, 2 and 3. It supports ISO Adobe 2, Adobe CE, Latin Extended characters.
Naming convention
The typeface is named after Rotis, a hamlet belonging to the German town of Leutkirch im Allgäu, where Otl Aicher lived. However, Aicher named the font "rotis", in minuscules, since Aicher thought of capital letters as a sign of hierarchy and oppression. When the fonts were reissued by Monotype Imaging in 2011, though, the font names were capitalized to "Rotis". This also affected fonts published by downstream foundries.
Uses
Björk used this font for the artwork of her album Homogenic and all its corresponding singles.
The metro of Bilbao uses this typeface in its logo and signage, which were also designed by Aicher himself.
The city ofMontreal uses Rotis Semi-Sans. However, it was modified slightly to spell out the word Montréal.
ABS-CBN uses Rotis Semi Serif as its corporate typeface and the typeface for some of its companies beginning in 2000. Since 2014, ABS-CBN uses a modified version of the font for its corporate logo.
The Finland-based firm Nokia also used this font in their packaging, user manuals and advertising, although this has mostly been replaced with their own font, Nokia Sans, for their phones' user interface and promotional materials.
PNC Financial Services, the sixth-largest bank in the United States, uses Rotis Semi Serif for its corporate logo and Rotis Sans Serif for their PNC Grow Up Great initiative, complemented by FF DIN for headlines and body copy.
Singapore's highway and street signage uses Rotis Semi Sans.
Also based in Auckland, New Zealand's largest architecture firm Jasmax uses Rotis in all of its documents.
The Rotis family is also used in book publishing, one example being Naomi Klein's No Logo which uses the semi-serif face. Open Source Press uses Rotis Sans Serif for all their books' body text, and Semi Serif for the headers.
The inscriptions on the gravestone of Manchester impresario Anthony H. Wilson, designed by Peter Saville and Ben Kelly, are in Rotis Serif.
Scandinavian Airlines uses Rotis as their logotype written in silver letters along the sides of their aircraft.
The serif face is the primary brand font for Teavana, a North American loose leave tea retailer
The font is also used in the game Bubble Witch Saga.
Not all review of Rotis have been favourable. Prominent typeface designer Erik Spiekermann commented that "Rotis is not a typeface. It has some great letters, but they never come together to make words that don't look contrived or uncomfortable. It looks best on gravestones and similar large architectural applications." He has also joked that he wants the design on his gravestone.
