![]() Gill Sans also soon became used on the modernist deliberately-simple covers of Penguin Books and was sold up to very large sizes, which were often used in British posters and notices of the period. British Railways chose Gill Sans as the basis for its standard lettering when the railway companies were nationalised in 1948. Designed before setting documents entirely in sans-serif text was common, its standard weight is noticeably bolder than most modern body text fonts.Īn immediate success, the year after its release the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) chose it for all its posters, timetables and publicity material. Gill's aim was to blend the influences of Johnston, classic serif typefaces and Roman inscriptions to create a design that looked both cleanly modern and classical at the same time. Gill Sans was released in 1928 by Monotype, initially as a set of titling capitals that was quickly followed by a lower-case. Morison hoped that it could be Monotype's competitor to a wave of German sans-serif families in a new " geometric" style, which included Erbar, Futura and Kabel, all being launched to considerable attention in Germany during the late 1920s. Gill was commissioned to develop his alphabet into a full metal type family by his friend Stanley Morison, an influential Monotype executive and historian of printing. By this time Gill had become a prominent stonemason, artist and creator of lettering in his own right and had begun to work on creating typeface designs. In addition, Gill sketched an alphabet for Cleverdon as a guide for him to use for future notices and announcements. In 1926, Douglas Cleverdon, a young printer-publisher, opened a bookshop in Bristol, and Gill painted a fascia for the shop for him in sans-serif capitals. As a young artist, Gill had assisted Johnston in its early development stages. Gill Sans is based on Edward Johnston's 1916 "Underground Alphabet", the corporate font of London Underground. * The four asterisks indicate places where the author replaced the words “she” and “her” because typefaces are neither male nor female.Īndré Mora is a typographer and has designed a bunch of magazines, taught publishing design, and worked for Font Bureau and Process.Gill Sans is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Eric Gill and released by the British branch of Monotype from 1928 onwards. By now it should be clear that Harriet is anything but prudish. Could three weights have been enough? Careful typographers won’t find this to be a problem - it will allow for plenty of play in settings ranging from ten to 16 points. Four text weights will inevitably lead to settings too light or too heavy. Its* manners are always good, but good manners mean one thing in a teahouse and another in a taphouse.Ī minor complaint may be Harriet’s embarrassment of riches. ![]() It’ll* sit on its hands or bounce down the block. Simply, Harriet’s* a joy to use (and to read once set), with styles ranging from delicate to downright fat. Its* nose may point, but not towards the sky. So let’s not imply the influence of anything too regal - Harriet skirts nobility. But no matter - all of these B-fonts feel drawn to the ground, like balloons losing air. In truth, Harriet may be more reminiscent of Bell or Bulmer, which were early deviations of Baskerville’s forms. The influence of mid-century moderns like Century is present, but, on the whole, Harriet maintains a historical elegance too often lost in contemporary typefaces. Nor does it mean Harriet is entirely a transitional design. ![]() Its own description calls it a rational serif, and you could acknowledge its vertical axis and then think nothing more of the term. But I believe that Harriet’s true rationality lies in how it solves this problem: there are too few worthy successors to Baskerville fit for today. Jackson Cavanaugh released it on Valentine’s Day and it comes with a heart that has more soul than either of the two found in Zapf Dingbats. This impressive family (appropriately titled “Series”) is made up of four text weights and six display weights. The desire to italicize entire pages will soon seem less romantic. For instance, you could print the lowercase ‘p’ from Harriet Display Light Italic and hang it on the wall, stare at it each morning, and develop a singular lust. Warning: Upon licensing the Harriet Series, a sudden urge to set everything in italics may overwhelm.
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