Compu-retro

This is what the typographic future of computers looked like in the 1960s and ’70s.

Yves Peters

Last edited May 26, 2015

These typefaces show what the future of computers looked like in the 1960s and ’70s, and are augmented with some modern takes on that style. Most of these designs seem to have their roots in MICR, those old-school figures found on the bottom of your American checks, and Adrian Frutiger’s optical character recognition font OCR A.

OCR A and OCR B are standardized, monospaced fonts designed for "Optical Character Recognition" on electronic devices. OCR A was developed to meet the standards set by the American National Standards Institute in 1966 for the processing of documents by banks, credit card companies and similar businesses. This font was intended to be "read" by scanning devices, and not necessarily by humans.... Read More

What sets Linotype Amelia apart from all the rest are its unusual inner spaces. Their teardrop forms lead the readers eye through the line of text. These teardrop shapes can also be seen in the contours of the characters themselves, making the letters look rounded and flexible. Linotype Amelia was designed by Stanley Davis in 1965 and speaks the language of the digital age. The flowing strokes... Read More

Computer is an all-capitals headline font that immediately implies early mainframe computer technology. Although desktop computers and better screen and printer faces have been available for some time, the type style of the Computer font is still used for futuristic topics.

Data Seventy is a high-tech style font, with the look of old computer lettering. Data Seventy gives any text a futuristic appearance.

First used in the books on (and by) the German techno scene, and techno design specifically, FF Localizer is at the same time a nostalgic 70s and a 90s typeface. Along the lines of “we thought this would be the future, then it wasn’t, but it didn’t matter after all, so here it is”. The additional FF Bionic and FF Chemo families (originally released as FF Localizer Clones) are Critzla's personal... Read More