Typeface Design for Lineto

The typeface buried by phototypesetting's collapse, finally resurrected by its original designers

LL Unica77 is the authorised digital revival of Haas Unica, remastered by original Team'77 designer Christian Mengelt from the foundry's own drawings and first released by Lineto in 2014. Haas Unica was conceived as a synthesis of Neue Haas Grotesk, Helvetica, Univers, and Akzidenz Grotesk Buch, then lost when Linotype dissolved Haas in 1989. The revival preserved the original eight cuts and grew into a multilingual family with Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, and Thai scripts, each developed with dedicated external specialists. A condensed family and three-axis variable font were developed by Luca Pellegrini, with the variable font scheduled for release in late 2024.

Set in Unica77

Insights

Team'77 rejected an earlier unauthorised PostScript version for monolinear drawing and inconsistent spacing before Lineto engaged Mengelt directly in 2012.
Linotype had declined Team'77's own request for an official digital reissue in 2010 and had already abandoned the trademark in 2005.
The condensed subfamily completes a project Haas abandoned around 1984 due to lack of funds.
A three-axis variable font (weight, width, slant) was developed by Luca Pellegrini in consultation with Mengelt and scheduled for release in late 2024.