Designed by Paul Renner and released by Bauer in 1927.
The groundbreaking design inspired many similar followers (see Related Typefaces), but also virtually direct copies and imports such as Airport (Baltotype, 1930s), Europe (Deberny & Peignot, 1929), Sans Serif H91 (Monotype, 1930–33), and Spartan (ATF/Linotype, 1939). Imported to US by Bauer sometime after its released, and for the Intertype machine around 1930.
See also Futura Condensed, Futura licht (open caps), Futura Black, Futura Display, and Steile Futura for other members of the greater series designed by Renner; and Futura Extra Bold for the extension by Edwin W. Shaar.