Eric Gill - Gill Sans
Publication
About the project
With this individual classroom project, the aim was to research about a particular font. The purpose was to know the history of the font, the designer, similar fonts, and its current use.
The font I selected to research was Gill Sans by Eric Gill. After thorough research, the findings were narrowed down and later were published as a zine.
The font I selected to research was Gill Sans by Eric Gill. After thorough research, the findings were narrowed down and later were published as a zine.
Category
Print Design
Year
May, 2017
History
In 1920 Eric Gill started working on type design, and in 1928 Gill Sans was born. The roots of Gill Sans can trace back to the typeface that Gill’s teacher, Edward Johnston, designed for the signage of the London Underground Railway in 1918.
Gill Sans is a humanist sans serif with some geometric touches in its structures. Originally Gill designed this typeface as an uppercase, and the lowercase characters were added in 1929. Gill Sans now represents one of his most widely used font in the world.
Gill Sans is a humanist sans serif with some geometric touches in its structures. Originally Gill designed this typeface as an uppercase, and the lowercase characters were added in 1929. Gill Sans now represents one of his most widely used font in the world.
Did you know?
Gill Sans is the 'Helvetica of England.'
Characteristics
Gill Sans has a very different style of design to geometric sans-serifs like Futura, based on simple squares and circles, or grotesque designs like Akzidenz-Grotesk, Helvetica and Univers. Gill Sans is not based on purely geometric principles, some aspects of Gill Sans do nonetheless have a geometric feel.
Features of Gill Sans
- The “C” and “a” have a much less “folded up” structure, with wider apertures.
- Letters like ‘Q’ and ‘R’ have a calligraphic tail.
- Lower case ‘L’ and uppercase ‘i’ are exactly the same.
A diverse family
Gill’s lettering is based on classic roman proportions, which gives this sans-serif a less mechanical feel than its geometric contemporaries. Following the traditional serif model, the italic has different letter forms from the roman, where many sans-serifs simply slant the letters in what is called an oblique style.
The basic letter shapes do not look consistent across styles, especially in Extra Bold and Extra Condensed widths, while the Ultra Bold style is effectively a different design altogether and was originally marketed as such.
The basic letter shapes do not look consistent across styles, especially in Extra Bold and Extra Condensed widths, while the Ultra Bold style is effectively a different design altogether and was originally marketed as such.
Did you know?
This typeface was initially recommended for advertising and headline use, but as the public got used to reading sans-serif, Gill Sans turned out to work just as well for body text.
Similar fonts
An immediate metal type competitor to Gill Sans was Granby from Stephenson Blake. Another similar but more eccentric design was created by Harold Curwen for the use of his family company, the Curwen Press of Plaistow. Gill sans is also sometimes misunderstood for Futura and Helvetica.
Besides similar fonts, many signs and objects made in Britain during the period of Gill Sans’ dominance, such as the famous Keep Calm and Carry On poster, received a hand-painted or custom lettering similar to Gill Sans.
Besides similar fonts, many signs and objects made in Britain during the period of Gill Sans’ dominance, such as the famous Keep Calm and Carry On poster, received a hand-painted or custom lettering similar to Gill Sans.
“A pair of spectacles is rather like a ‘g’. I will make a ‘g’ rather like a pair of spectacles.”
- Eric Gill
- Eric Gill
About Eric Gill
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill ARA (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, typeface designer, stone-cutter and print-maker. He became a founder member of the newly established Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry.
He designed the Gill Sans typeface in 1927–30, based on the sans-serif lettering originally designed for the London Underground. One of the most famous British typefaces, Gill Sans, was used in the classic design system of Penguin Books and by the London and North Eastern Railway and later British Railways. In the 1990s, the BBC adopted Gill Sans for its word-mark and many of its on-screen television graphics.
He designed the Gill Sans typeface in 1927–30, based on the sans-serif lettering originally designed for the London Underground. One of the most famous British typefaces, Gill Sans, was used in the classic design system of Penguin Books and by the London and North Eastern Railway and later British Railways. In the 1990s, the BBC adopted Gill Sans for its word-mark and many of its on-screen television graphics.
Design and publication
After the research and gathering of the information was done, it was now time to layout the information. Since it was an independent project, a zine was a perfect fit for publication. Once everything was done, a dozen zines were printed and distributed among my friends and faculties.
What is a Zine?
A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via photocopier.
A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via photocopier.
