Copyright Š Soh Jun Hao Published in 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in Singapore.
CONTENT HISTORY FAMILY LEADING CHARACTER EXPERIMENT
HISTORY
Morris Fuller Benton Morris Fuller Benton (November 30, 1872 –June 30, 1948) was an influential American typeface designer who headed the design department of the American Type Founders (ATF), for which he was the chief type designer from 1900 to 1937. Benton designed more than fifty typefaces, ranging from revivals of historical models like ATF Bodoni, to adding new weights to existing faces such as Goudy Old Style and Cheltenham, and to designing original designs such as Hobo, Bank Gothic, and Broadway. Benton’s large family of related neogrotesques, which he termed “gothics”, includes Alternate Gothic, Franklin Gothic, and News Gothic, all of which were more similar to, and anticipated, contemporary realist sans-serif typefaces like Helvetica than the early grotesque types of his contemporaries.
Franklin Gothic Franklin Gothic is a realist sans-serif typeface designed by Morris Fuller Benton (1872–1948)in 1902. The typeface is one of over 200 typefaces designed by Benton. “Gothic” is an increasingly archaic term meaning sans-serif, which is found primarily in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The larger family, including condensed and extra condensed, was designed and released over the period of 1902–1912. Franklin Gothic was originally designed as a typeface with a single weight and only two variations in width. Franklin Gothic has been used in many advertisements and headlines in newspapers.
The typeface continues to maintain a high profile appearing in a variety of media from books to billboards. Franklin Gothic has an extra bold weight with a combination of subtle irregularities, tapering of strokes near junctions,in its roman form. Franklin Gothic has several widths and weights including Franklin Gothic book, medium, demi, heavy, condensed and extra condensed.
FAMILY
Franklin Gothic Book
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
ajumps fox
quick brown
1 d o gD 23 ^@ 4 O 5 G ! S3 Z Y X W 6 V U~ 7 T 8 G F H E S D 9 BC IJ R A 0 KQ d L P o M g O g N
over the
.
lazy
Franklin Gothic Demi
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
0 3
8
8 7 6 5 4
0
7
6
J
I
H
G F
5 6 789 3 4 0 2 1 2345 6 789
21 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
9 0 9
Y Z
876 54
of
DEFG H I J KL ABTCS RQP O NM VU V W WX Y Z X
~ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
D C
B A
A B C D E F GH I JNW 4 4 3 2 21 65 X
U
V
R O M
W
. . 3
E
k x lac b
0
98
h i n p s 8
7
2 3 4
X
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
Z
2
5 4 4 3 2 1
6
7
9
0
tr z a u q
8
judge my vow.
Franklin Gothic Demi Condensed
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
pack
0
123 456 789
MY X BO TH WI VE L D FI JU IQU OZEN G S OR
my box with five dozen liquor jugs
PAC K
Franklin Gothic Heavy
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
About sixty codfish
e gg
s
1 2 Z 3 4 Y 5 X 6 W 7 V 8 9 U 0 T B S C R D Q E P F GH O I J KL M N
e
e eg e gg e g gs e g gs s s
will make a quarter pound of very fizzy jelly.
Franklin Gothic Medium
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
Y MP RU mpy gru 1
G
rumpy wizards make toxic brewfor the 2
WIZARDS MAKE 3 TOXIC 4 BREW FOR THE
Queen Jack.
EVIL
7
queen
5
evil
AND
and
8
6
QUEEN
JACK
jack
9
0
Franklin Gothic Medium Condensed
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
01 2 3 5 6 7 daft DAFT
how HOW
quickly
QUICKLY
jumping
ZEBRAS
JUMPING
zebras
VEX.
9
8
vex.
4
LEADING
s ital cap t r e a vi s th is hea its htnes troke n i ig rd s y ok a iall nd l r. Bo pec ess a ownw ighte c i s e h l d t n , i d r o e v n h nne G — a hea e t i ce n of wher is th klin t a n f o e i e a g k p elat n i y o Fr /10p r t r t e r t this the lett rd s 8p gly, e of hand upwa n i r is som the yo rpr Su eeps raph , and g r i k — all eavie nc is i ker, h thic
ok Bo pt c i 2 th Go pt/1 n i 0 l 1 lly nk cia e e Fra p es f th nd me o at is a th so e e— fac eeps tness ere th e e p k y ligh g wh d th . is t s — , th apital s and terin ier, an ghter y l s li v c et ng risi avier avine and l r, hea nner, p r i e h e r Su ts he of h ick is th yo in i ation raph e is th troke rel callig strok rd s in ard upwa nw dow
ts in i f y l l o cia tion r e p es e rela phy o icker, d n h h a ok — a e of t alligr e is t ter. Bo e c i k c c h o m a oth pef ps so t is in rd str er, lig y in G t t l k a n n p ee th wa in his Fra t/14 y, t ls — k ness down is th l p g 2 e t n 1 a risi capit d ligh re the strok p r Su vier s an whe ward hea vines ering e up ok t Bo pt h a t t e c e i h d l and 6 th Go 4pt/1 n i han vier, l 1 s nk Fra n it f hea i y o ll
cia ation or e p es e rel phy r, d n a of th lligra icke r. — ce ome in ca e is th ighte a f ype eps s hat is strok ner, l t s thi — ke ess t ward s thin , y i n ls gl tn sin apita ligh dow troke i r d e s c rp Su avier ss an ere th ward he avine g wh e up he terin nd th let er, a d i n ha heav
ps e d e n k — a als — and e ac apit ess nd ook f B e c thi typ ier c avin or ha e is Go s n i i v e l nk pt , th s hea of h aphy strok oke y Fra t/18 l p tr ng in it tion lligr ard 16 i s s i d ela ca nw ar rpr lly Su ecia the r t is in dow upw esp e of s tha re the d the som tnes whe er, an ligh ering heavi ter. nd a t h — ls let ker, r, lig e c c e a ita f f thi hinn p k e o a Bo typ ier c ion o in is t thic s o i G av lin th at is
y, s he e rel hat l ere g t t h n i i h f t ness ing w , ris lly in o p r Su ecia some light etter icker is l esp eeps s and and is th troke e h — k vines y or strok ard s h hea igrap ward e upw l cal down nd th . a the vier, ighter l hea ner, thin
nk pt Fra t/22 p 18
Fran k 20pt lin Gothi c Bo /26p ok t
Surp ris espe ingly, th is ci — ke ally in its typeface eps heav — an som heav i d e r cap e of ines itals the r s an in ca e d lig latio lligra h n of t n phy whe e s s tha or ha re th t is e n thick d let down terin e ward g strok r, heavie r, an stroke i e is s d thinn er, li the upw ghte ard r.
CHARACTER
g Franklin Gothic can be distinguished from other sans serif typefaces, as it has a more traditional double-storey g
While maintaining the integrity of the heavy stroke, the way it is also light creates a feeling of something whimsical with its differently shaped thick and thin ovals, joined with a swift curving line and short curved and pointed stroke at the top right making for release — yet it also maintains a perfect balance.
g
The lower case g is the only letter of this alphabet that has a circle because unlike the other characters, its dynamic energy—like a spring in motion—needs the perfection of the circle to maintain stability and a lift at the same time.
Q
The tail of the Q curls down from the bottom center of the letterform in the book weight and shifts slightly to the right in the bolder fonts.
t
Some of the characters seem to be just a little askew—but always with a sense of rightness, fittingness. The left top side of the vertical stroke of the t, instead of going straight up, veers to the right slightly, making for something lighter, even with a touch of humor.
f
And the curved tail of the t, like the top of the f, all of a sudden becomes slightly tapered.
j
While they are similar to how the j curves and tapers, it is just a little different—each letter has its distinct way with heaviness and lightness.
The lower case i is very regular in weight, its stocky rectangular dot is held in suspension—just half the distance of its own depth over the lower portion of the character, making for a feeling of release with roots.
i
Glyghix
cap height ascender height
baseline
descender height
The font has a few more distinctive and unique features in its ears and terminals, but nothing too stylistic or out of the ordinary. Its x-height is relatively high which should allow for better legibility at small sizes. The slight contrast between thicks and thins gives it a ever-so-slightly more humanistic feel.
x-height
GGGGGG Franklin Gothics popularity is due to the fact that, unlike some other bold and assertive typefaces, it also has finesse, lightness, something warm and friendly. A man can learn from this letter how he wants to be—serious and thoughtful in a way that goes along with a sense of humor, and energetic with aplomb and grace. Look at even the much heavier capital G —how its stately oval ends with an upward pointing arrow.
EXPERIMENT
gTg OHO O
O
E
O
O
I
S S
O
O
O
i
i
l
DD
DD
DD
D
D
C
Q X
I GG PP
t t i i i t
T
T
CC t i
o
o