Gill Sans

In 1927, a chap of the name Eric Gill set out to create a typeface that was equally functional as both body text and display text. This typeface was also to be an English counterpart to combat the German Futura, which had become a success in the 1920s. From there, I was born! Whimsically curvy, with distinctive inconsistency amongst my alternate weights, I have become a prevalent typeface among the design world due to my versatility. I am definitively British, and have even been nicknamed the “British Helvetica.” Why? You can see me fully immersed in the culture, appearing on traditional and iconic British imagery from the BBC logo to the Penguin Books jacket design.

I am a complete and revised version of the letterforms of Johnston Sans, which was designed for the London Underground signage. Gill had assisted with this some years earlier, during his time as an apprentice for the famous British calligrapher, Edward Johnston.

As my name suggests, I am sans serif; however, I can be set apart from my cousins with some dashing features. I have thick variations in stroke widths, which makes for more legibility along with a less mechanical feel. I have a relatively small x-height, which is interesting to note, as a higher x-height is typically considered more readable. This is pertinent in the case of Helvetica and Futura. Nonetheless I am an exception to this, so I am not self-conscious of my height! My rounded letterforms play a chief role in this. As an architect turned calligrapher, Gill also drew influence from Roman scripts and combined these with modern geometric forms. My uppercase is based on monumental Roman capitals, while my lowercase takes the form of Carolingian script. My capital “M” is based on the proportions of a square, with the middle strokes meeting at the centre.

My family of weights are renowned for key differences across them. This is because they were not “mechanically” produced from my regular self, but rather they were handcrafted, demonstrating great skill on Gill’s part. While at times individuals have questioned a lack of consistency, I call this character! Each has its own personality, and they work together well. My light version expresses an elegant tone, appropriate for body text, while my bolder counterparts convey a soft yet vivid tone and are perfect for headings.

I currently reside on both Mac OSX and Microsoft Office systems as a default font, in an array of over two dozen digital styles. This accessibility has allowed for me to be used vastly around the world. I can be found on many notable movie posters like Toy Story and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It is no doubt I shall continue to be an ever popular typeface.

References
http://www.monotypefonts.com/Library/.asp?show=gillsans
http://www.markboulton.co.uk/journal/comments/typeface-of-the-month-gill-sans
http://alisoncarrier.com/blog/?p=32
http://idsgn.org/posts/know-your-type-gill-sans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gill_Sans