Know your type Gill Sans idsgn a design blogCalled the Helvetica of England, the sixth installment in our Know your type series is the humanist sans serif Gill Sans. Influenced by the UndergroundThe history of Gill Sans stems from Edward Johnstons iconic typeface, Johnston Sans, designed for the London Underground in 1. Eric Gill, who had studied under Johnston at Londons Central School of Arts and Crafts, later became a friend and apprenticeand even had a small role assisting in creation of the proprietary typeface. Helvetica World Regular' title='Helvetica World Regular' />Left Johnston Sans printing blocks now on display at the London Transport Museum, 1. Photo Kaihsu Tai, Wikipedia Right Londons Underground roundel set in Johnston Sans often confused as Gill Sans, designed 1. HelveticaNeue.jpg' alt='Helvetica World Regular' title='Helvetica World Regular' />Photo danorbit, FlickrCreating a fool proof typeface. Not completely satisfied with Johnstons work, Gill set out to create the perfect, legible typeface. 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 saynothing should be left to the imagination of the sign writer or enamel plate maker. Eric Gill, Essay on Typography, published 1. Drawing heavily on Johnstons work, Gill first experimented with his improvements in 1. Bristol. Gill also sketched a guide for the bookshop owner, Douglas Cleverdon, who later published the work in A Book of Alphabets for Douglas Cleverdon. The alphabet, which at the time only contained uppercase letters, was noticed by Stanley Morison for its commercial potential. A Monotype advisor, Morison commissioned Gill to develop a complete font family to compete with the sans serif designs released by German foundries fueled by the overwhelming success of Futura. The font was released commercially by Monotype in 1. Gill Sans. Left Eric Gill as a young man, 1. Photo Harry Ransom Center Right Drawing by Eric Gill, 1. Photo St Bride Library via Fontblog. While his personal life was later discovered to be rather controversial, Eric Gill born 1. Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, died 1. British sculptor, artist, and typeface designer who also gave us Perpetua and Joanna named after one of his daughters, among others. The Helvetica of England. Worldwide Freebies, Contests, Sweepstakes, Giveaway, Deals, India Free Stuff, US Free Stuff, Freebies, Discounts, Coupons, Free Samples, more. One of the most fun parts of planning a Disney World trip is all of the chances to get creative. In this post, I have some Disney World luggage tags you can print out. Helvetica World Regular' title='Helvetica World Regular' />Called the Helvetica of England, the sixth installment in our Know your type series is the humanist sansserif Gill Sans. Influenced by the Underground. Regular Expressions User Guide. A Regular Expression is the term used to describe a codified method of searching invented, or defined, by the American mathematician. Top A selection of trump cards top row and pip cards bottom row from the first edition of the RiderWaite deck, circa 1909. Via the World of Playing Cards. Ebcdic File Viewer more. Helvetica World Regular' title='Helvetica World Regular' />Gill Sans rose to popularity in 1. London and North Eastern Railway LNER, appearing on everything from locomotive nameplates to time tables. Left LNER Bitterns nameplate set in Gill Sans, built 1. Photo Crowcombe Al, Flickr Right The Kraken Wakes published by Penguin Books in 1. Photo duncan, FlickrThe typeface was used in 1. Edward Young on the now iconic Penguin Booksjacket design, putting Gill Sans on bookshelves around the world. Many other notable companies particularly in England adopted Gill Sans as a corporate typeface by the mid 1. BBC, British Railways, and ultimately Monotype themselvesmaking the typeface Monotypes fifth best seller of the twentieth century. A diverse family. Originally released as metal type, over 3. Monotype drawing office with input by Gill. The typeface is renowned for its inconsistencies between weights, as they were not mechanically produced from a single design opposed to others like Helvetica. The light font, with its heavily kerned f and tall t, has an open, elegant look. The regular font has a more compact and muscular appearance, with its flat bottomed d, flat topped p and q, and short, triangular topped t. The bold font tends to echo the softer, more open style of the light, while the extra bold and ultra bold have their own vivid personalities. Monotype Imaging Inc, Hidden Gems Gill Sans. The Gill Sans family ranges from Light to the exaggerated Ultra Boldbecause every advertisement has to try and shout down its neighbors, Gill explains in Essay on Typography. Gills lettering is based on classic roman proportions, which give the sans serif a less mechanical feel than its geometric contemporaries. The 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. Gill Sans today. Today over two dozen Gill Sans designs are available digitally, with mainstream reach thanks to its inclusion on Mac OS X and Microsoft Office. It can be seen everywhere, used or overused on everything from corporate logos to movie postersone industry that has actually embraced the unusual Ultra Bold. Meanwhile, the legendary Johnston Sans typeface became available commercially for the first time in 1. P2. 2s London Underground, licensed by the London Transport Museum. A variant called ITC Johnston was also released 1.