Gill Sans Body Copy

Introduction

Gill Sans is a quintessentially British typeface, which some consider as the Helvetica of England. It is a humanist typeface designed by Eric Gill, modelled after his mentor’s work, Johnston Sans. The typeface is recognised from its rounded letters, lack of modular strokes and binocular shaped ‘g’. Due to the large and varied type family, the typeface is very legible in both text and display work, with its uses in the media ranging from Penguin Books, BBC to the oversized Toy Story title. Gill Sans is recognised as a friendly typeface and can be seen everywhere, always read with a British accent.

History:

Gill Sans was developed in 1928 by Eric Gill a typographer who studied under iconic creator of the Johnston Sans typeface, Edward Johnston. Under his guidance, Gill studied in the London Central School of Arts and Crafts. He decided to create his image of the perfect, legible typeface. Gill was inspired by the Humanist movement of the Renaissance and this influence can be seen in the classic forms of ‘g’ and ‘a’. However, Gill also used classic Roman proportions combined with Art Deco stylings, giving the typeface a more geometrical letterform.

To begin his task of creating his typeface, Gill experimented with hand painting lettering for a bookshop in Bristol, which he developed into a sketch for the owner if any wording and design changes needed to be made in the future. This alphabet was observed by Stanley Morison who at the time was a Typographic adviser to the Monotype corporation. He commissioned Gill to develop a font family for his alphabet seeing potential in its commercial use. The typeface, now named Gill Sans, was officially released by Monotype in 1928. The release included a variety of weights: Light, Regular, SemiBold, bold and UltraBold each very different from the last.

Gill Sans received positive publicity and rose in popularity in 1929, appearing in the form of locomotive nameplates to timetables for the London and North-Eastern Railway (LNER). Later in 1935, the typeface was chosen by designer Edward Young to be used on the recognisable Penguin Books Jacket design. The popularity of Gill Sans grew further, becoming Monotype’s fifth best-selling typeface of the 20^th Century. Due to this, they chose to take the typeface as their own logo. The largest impact Gill Sans has today is the presence on the BBC logo and therefore all the BBC products English audiences consume daily.

“The first notable attempt to work out the norm for plain letters was made by Mr Edward Johnston when he designed the sans-serif letter for the London Underground Railways. Some of these letters are not entirely satisfactory, especially when it is remembered that, for such a purpose, an alphabet should be as near as possible ‘fool-proof’… as the philosophers would say—nothing should be left to the imagination of the sign-writer or enamel-plate maker.” Eric Gill, Essay on Typography, Published 1931.

Anatomy:

Gill Sans falls into the Humanist Sans Serif classification though does have connections to geometric typefaces. Humanist Sans Serifs are rooted in calligraphy with emphasis on rounded forms with open apertures. They also have higher contrast than other sans serif typefaces, though this is still far from the level of their serif counterparts. Often these typefaces have binocular style ‘g’ characters and variable widths, again, contrary to the serif classifications.

Uses in the Media:

Gill Sans is most widely seen by the British public in the form of the BBC logo and their many branches. The typeface stays consistent throughout displaying its versatility and one of the reasons Gill Sans is considered a symbol of Britain.

The typeface is also seen widespread across the London and North-Eastern Railway (LNER) from timetables, train menus and the locomotive for the Flying Scotsman. The clear legible typeface is suited to the larger display purposes and the smaller print applications allowing the design to be continuous throughout the establishment.

The UltraBold form of the typeface applied itself to the instantly recognisable Pixar film Toy Story franchise. Though a use for such a statement design wasn’t clear for many, Pixar used the UltraBold as a starting point for a design that fits the young audience and creates a fun and friendly feel.

Gill Sans is also recognised as the typeface of Penguin Books, becoming the main focus of the simplistic covers alongside the black, orange and white colour scheme.