FS Elliot by Fontsmith

FS Elliot A new generation sans serif with a British twist. by Nick Job

I think we all stand on the shoulders of giants when we create – especially when we work in design. Certainly, the influence of Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert was there in the mix when I started working on Elliot. But, more than this, I was really setting out to create something that was squarely in the British tradition. We have a way of balancing pragmatic concerns with a unique, even quirky character - the best British design is often classic, but with a twist.

Thin Italic 290pt

We always seem to have this battle between the lure of modernism and the tried and tested reassurance of the traditional. I enjoy this creative tightrope and it’s a dynamic that seems to create interesting and quintessentially British work. What’s always important though, is to clearly have your eye on the future.

What has already been done is often only interesting from the perspective that it worked prefectly within its time. It was a solution to a problem that existed in another context.

I’m also fascinated with travel, and specifically the Rail network in Britain. Again, its hard to deny that Design Research Unit’s exhaustive work for British Rail must have been in the back of my mind.

The great thing about having an eye on the future is that most of it is unknown. It’s what encourages us to take risks and it leaves an uncertainty which, I believe, gives the best work its enduring appeal.

However, although I wanted to retain the simplicity and openness of this typographic style, I definitely wanted to create something original and more far-reaching.

I also wanted the font to be really practical – a workhorse that could be used in a large number of applications. The extension into Cyrillic and Greek was also the perfect way to test its durability.

BRIT– ISH MINI– STRY

FS Elliot

Thin 98pt

Regular 98pt

Bold Regular Light Thin 49pt

FS Elliot

MODERN DURABILITY RESEARCH UNIT BRUNSWICK GREEN INDUSTRY STANDARD ELEGANT SIMPLICITY

At a relatively late stage Jason urged me to use ‘proper’ commas and quotes (as opposed to just straight strokes) and I think this detail added further charm and warmth. As did the suggestion of introducing a hook to the lowercase ‘a’ 'l', chiselling the ears on the stem joins.

I hope that the finished FS Elliot has the warmth and broad appeal to be a real hard worker in any environment.

FS Elliot

But really, my aspiration for it is that it should be the next step in a powerful British tradition of modernist sans serif type design that always looks to the future.

A robust, hard-working sans serif typeface for the 21st Century, with its roots in 60s sans serif design.

Light 28pt

Regular 294pt

FS Elliot is also available in a Pro version with full language support.

FS Elliot

Bold 255pt

БДФГΞ Bold 98pt

LANGUAGE SUPPORT

Light Italic 60pt

“ There’s a mole, right at the top of the circus and he’s been there for years.” “ I need you to do something for me. You have to assume they’re watching you...”

Heavy 32pt

Light 32pt

AVAILABLE FORMATS

OpenType TrueType Lining and Old Style figures in Tabular and Proportional widths.

Superior & Inferior Numerals and OpenType Fractions. Small Capitals in all Latin, Cyrillic and Greek scripts. OpenType Ligatures. Mac and PC

AVAILABLE WEIGHTS

THIN

Thin Thin Italic Light Light Italic Regular Italic Bold Bold Italic Heavy Heavy Italic

LIGHT

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFG HIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789 abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFG HIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789 REGULAR

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFG HIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789 BOLD

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFG HIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789 HEAVY

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFG HIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789

LANGUAGE SUPPORT

FS Elliot Pro suports Greek and Cyrillic alphabets in addition to the standard Latin characters.

CYRILLIC AVAILABLE WEIGHTS

GREEK AVAILABLE WEIGHTS

THIN

АБВГДЕЖЅZЗИІКЛМ ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟ НОПРСТФХЦЧШЩЪ ΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩαβγδεζη ЬЮабвгдежѕzзиіклмн θικλμνξοπρσςτυφχψω опрстфхцчшщъью LIGHT ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟ АБВГДЕЖЅZЗИІКЛМ ΠΡΣΥΦΧΨΩαβγδεζηθι НОПРСФХЦЧШЩЪ κλμνξοπρσςτυφχψω ЬЮабвгдежѕzзиіклмн REGULAR опрстфхцчшщъью ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟ REGULAR ΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩαβγδεζη АБВГДЕЖЅZЗИІКЛМ θικλμνξοπρσςτυφχψω НОПРСФХЦЧШЩЪ BOLD ЬЮабвгдежѕzзиіклмн ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝ опрстфхцчшщъью ΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩαβγ BOLD δεζηθικλμνξοπρσςτ АБВГДЕЖЅZЗИІКЛМ υφχψω НОПРСФХЦЧШЩЪ HEAVY ЬЮабвгдежѕzзиіклм ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞ нопрстфхцчшщъью ΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩαβγδ HEAVY εζηθικλμνξοπρσςτ АБВГДЕЖЅZЗИІКЛМ υφχψω НОПРСФХЦЧШЩЪ ЬЮабвгдежѕzзиіклм нопрстфхцчшщъью LIGHT

For further information and to buy FS Elliot visit fontsmith.com

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