gee whiz

Apologies, but I've fallen behind with my fortnightly posts in my 52 font series. I guess I'd better hurry up with the Hs and aim to get back in line with the Is. But first of all the Gs: and a couple of real classics here. In fact, if you were allowed just two fonts to work with, you couldn't go very far wrong with these.

First up is:

A font that surely defines the expression 'what goes around comes around'. Because it often becomes the victim of lazy over-use, but give it a rest for a few years and up it pops again as a graphic designers' favourite. Designed by Eric Gill for the London & North Eastern Railway in 1927, it was heavily influenced by Edward Johnston’s Johnston typeface for London Underground, which Gill had worked on while apprenticed to Johnston. Although designed primarily as a display face, it's long been a favourite for text setting as well (and not much wrong with that). But there are a couple of little quirks to look out for when using this font:

First of all the figure 1, which is indistinguishable from a lower-case L: something to watch out out for if, for instance, you're designing an annual report (where you have a mix of text and figures). And second, the cap T at the start of a sentence; because the auto-kerning function in typesetting programs will close it right up to the preceding full point - so this may be an instance where you really do need that secretaries' favourite - a double word space between sentences.

Roll back the years by another decade (give or take), and 1916 gives you the year in which Goudy Old Style first appeared. Designed by that great American type designer, Frederick W. Goudy (although some of the subsequent heavier weights were designed by Morris Fuller Benton - and you'll remember that he's been mentioned before in this series).

So there you have it: all geed up for the last Thursday in February.

Comments

[Andrew]

I love gill's work: his typography has real character and life; his drawings are beautiful; his sculptures are effortlessly elegant; he was born near where i live (in a small terraced house). I wish I'd never read the biography.

[davidthedesigner]

Ah, so you found out what he used to measure so regularly and so carefully, did you Andrew?

[Andrew]

Don't remind me. But he could certainly carve.

[Richard Madeley]

'which is indistinguishable from a lower-case L'

This gave me a cold shiver. I've spent the last two days proof-reading documents that used Ariel-narrow as a body text. It's nice to come back and visit a place where everything is as it should be.