GOTHAM Designed by Bethany Darwin
A TYPE SPECIMEN BOOK
GOTHAM
H 1. Obama’s famous “Hope” Campaign Poster 2. Spotify Branding 3. Coca Cola Branding
HISTORY Gotham was created in 2000 by Tobias Frere-Jones when he and his partner were commissioned by GQ Magazine to create a font for their brand. They looked for inspiration in places like New York City, especially the Port Authority Bus Terminal on 8th Avenue, and in other fonts, such as Helvetica and Futura. Gotham has been used often across the years since 2000, in everything from branding (Spotify, Coca Cola, Netflix, Crest) to presidential campaigns (Obama’s campaign designs and “Hope” poster).
“I think it’s interesting that the design of Gotham was influenced by early Modernism, another movement that was about change and social idealism. And I like that the design aesthetic that may help move Obama into the White House was inspired by the humble NY Port Authority Bus Terminal sign.” - Jonathan Hoefler
CREATOR(S) In 2000, a commission to design a signature sans serif for GQ afforded Tobias Frere-Jones the chance to explore a new style— beginning with a long-bookmarked piece of public lettering on one of the city’s most mundane buildings: the Port Authority Bus Terminal on New York’s Eighth Avenue. With the goal of allowing the typeface to exhibit the mathematical reasoning of a draftsman, rather than the instincts of a typeface designer, Frere-Jones “allowed Gotham to escape the grid wherever necessary, giving the design an affability usually missing from geometric faces.” Although the typeface was designed by Tobias Frere-Jones in cooperation with his partner, Jonathan Hoefler, the two no longer work together, and in fact have just recently settled a $20 million lawsuit. Although the exact settlement of the suit is confidential, the typeface “Gotham” appears to remain under Hoefler & Co.
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Tobias Frere-Jones August 28, 1970
Jonathan Hoefler August 22, 1970
THE GOTHAM FAMILY
X Light X Light Italic Light Light Italic Thin Thin Italic Book Book Italic
Medium Medium Italic Bold Bold Italic Ultra Ultra Italic Condensed Condensed Bold
ALPHA + SPECIAL CHARACTERS
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
1234567890 !@#$%^&*-_— ()[]{}:;”‘,.<>/?
Lowercase ascenders exceed the height of capital letters.
Arm-Leg Connection
Agk Vertical crossbars. Even strokes throughout. Lowercase “g” does not sit on the Baseline
ggg 1. Gotham 2. Helvetica 3. Futura
In general, Gotham has rounder counters than other similar fonts— almost perfect circles.
Unbalanced Crossbars and High Ascenders The lowercase “c” can be found within the lowercase “o”.
pfo Flat Terminals
a a a
Repition of Shapes
Very Short Descenders
1. Gotham 2. Helvetica 3. Futura
You can see the influence of Helvetica in shape and stroke, and Futura when it comes to flourishes.
GOTHAM
WHY GOTHAM? Gotham is one of the most successful typefaces of the early twenty-first century. Originally inspired by the lettering on Manhattan’s Port Authority Bus Terminal sign, it was designed after Tobias Frere-Jones conducted an extensive study of New York City’s vernacular lettering. A distillation of the “letters of paint, plaster, neon, glass and steel that figure so prominently in the urban landscape,” as the typographer has said, Gotham has a familiar quality even though it is newly designed. The letterforms are simple and straightforward—an engineer’s idea of “basic lettering.” If you browse through my portfolio, it won’t take long for you to notice the pattern of Gotham’s wily face appearing in my work, as I use the typeface comfortably and often. Its structure gives any work a familiar and professional feel, but its modern sanserif gives its content a fun, almost airy, feeling when looking for a simple font for a graphic or logo. Gotham remains a favorite of mine, and of countless designers around the world.