Arthur Eric Rotwell Gill
Eric Gill
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B
orn in Brighton, England in 1882 Arthur of Royal Designer for Industry. As Ron Eason & Sarah Eric Rowton Gill best known as “Eric Rookledge mention in his book: International Handbook Gill.” Gill was a pacifist, socialist, and a of Type Designers. Gill studied at the Chichester School distinguished figure of his time. Talented of Art before studying at his spare time in London at type designer, wood-engraver, letter- the Central School of Art & Crafts. It is here where he cutter, sculptor and yet a Social Critic meets Edward Johnston an admirable figure in the letconcerned with social retering field. Was through forms, like, integration of “Letters are not pictures or representations. They Johnston that Gill was incraftsmanship and indus- are more or less abstract forms...their special and troduced to the Arts and try, art and religion, and peculiar attraction for the ‘mystical mug’ called Crafts movement. From flesh and spirit. Although man...allow him to consider beauty without fear...” this point Gill became a he made these concerns stone-cutter and letterpublic Gills life did not reflect these beliefs quite well. For er. Although well known for his work in sculptor he still a period in his life Gill worked as a carver of tombstones, made lettering an important part of his sculptures. Indeed by 1912 his sculpture “Mother and Child” gave him public his most famous typeface is Gill Sans and Perpetua which notice in the field. His fame after 1912 earner him some he begun to work in 1925 at the apogee of the revoluimportant commissions, such as, the relief “Prospero and tionary monotype, a “typesetter, which casts individual Ariel” over the main entrance of Broadcasting House, aligned characters... based on a system of measuring the London , and the three bas-reliefs “The Creation of Adam” width of characters.” Gill was commisioned his first typein the lobby of the council hall of the Palace of Nations face by Stanley Morison, a typographic adviser from the at Geneva. Among of many of his achievements Gill was Cambridge University Press, Morison saw that Gill’s backmade Associate of the Institute of British Architects, ground as stone-cutter would offer him a profound unThe Royal Academy and in 1930 was bestowed the title derstanding of the serif.
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Light,58pt Font Size/58pt Leading
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Bold,35pt Font Size/38pt Leading
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUV WXYZ Italic,22pt Font Size
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CONDENSED
Bold Light
Italic Italic
Book Italic Bold Extra Bold
Regular
peculiar
Italic/136pt Font Size
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ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ Light Italic,34pt Font Size/37pt Leading
the light,while the extra bold and ultra bold have their own vivid personalities.
Light, 6pt Font Size/7pt Leading
The bold font tends to echo the softer, more open style of
Regular, 11pt Font Size/12pt Leading
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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-toppewd ‘t.’
Regular, 18pt Font Size
distinct character of its own.
Bold, 20pt Font Size/24pt Leading
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“…EACH WEIGHT RETAINS A DISTINCT CHARACTER
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Regular,58pt Font Size/58pt Leading
Shadowed,32pt Font Size/29pt Leading
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Condensed,22pt Font Size
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV WXYZ
o s zfi
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