Ian Storm TaylorOct 1 2009 10:25 AM
One of my least favorite typefaces. I had no idea the entire family was so inconsistent. I don\'t even understand how things got to be that different. The ultra bold looks like an entirely different typeface with all of its deviations.
Just makes me dislike Gill Sans even more.
That being said, I still jump when I see that a new Know Your Type has been published, so don\'t worry.7point34Oct 1 2009 11:22 AM
gill sans is a hideous face, even worse in the bolder weights. i don\'t understand the proportions of it and some of the characters are downright ugly. Ian said it best when he pointed out its inconsistencies. even within a single weight some of the letter forms look like they are completely unrelated.
it truly deserves the name \"grotesque\"SkylarOct 1 2009 11:36 AM
@Ian, I mentioned the reason for the inconsistencies briefly in the article, which was a result of the different weights not being drawn from a single design (many of which were created by the Monotype drawing office, rather than Gill himself). Also, part of this is due to the extreme nature of some of the weights. For example, the lowercase \'g\' changes its form from \'Regular\' to \'Ultra Bold\' due to the fatness of the letter—the double story \'g\' would not fit within the allotted space.
@Skylar:
Sorry I didn\'t meant to imply that your article wasn\'t clear. It was a good read and very informative. I understood that many different people worked to make the entire family, but I find their work horrible. There is no viable excuse for why there are such blatant inconsistencies across the family. \"Gill Sans Regular\" is a fine typeface—although I have a few very small problems with it—but the rest of them just don\'t conform.
For example, the Ultra Bold \'r\' has a ball finial that is not present anywhere else in the family. And the dips in the Ultra Bold \'i\' and \'j\' are also completely random. Or how about the random descender in the Bold Extra Condensed \'f\'. Or how Extra Bold introduced a spur on the \'u\' which disappeared again in Ultra Bold. Or how the size of the dots on the \'i\' and \'j\' of Extra Bold are completely random. Or how the same dots in Light are suddenly rectangles instead of ellipses. Or how the Bold \'o\' decided to introduce a pen angle in what is supposed to be geometric typeface. I mean there are just so many inconsistencies.
Of course, I\'m not trying to say Eric Gill wasn\'t a fantastic typographer, I just think that those responsible for combining it into a family did so very poorly. That is all.
And I look forward to the next know your type, as I enjoyed this one.MickOct 2 2009 6:29 AM
Call me crazy, but I actually like the inconsistencies.
It\'s nice to see a bit of character and variation in there, even if some of the \'quirks\' make no sense at all.
However I\'m actually lucky enough to own several weights of Gill Sans in metal type so I may be somewhat biased!Peter FlaschnerOct 2 2009 9:05 AM
Leaving aside the merits and demerits of his font, Eric Gill was a truly disturbed man. He sexually abused his children and his dog, and had an incestuous relationship with his sister.
From Wikipedia (I know, I know...)
Whilst Gill was a deeply religious man, largely following the Roman Catholic faith, his beliefs and practices were by no means orthodox. His personal diaries describe his sexual activity in great detail including the fact that Gill sexually abused his own children, had an incestuous relationship with his sister and performed sexual acts on his dog.
Personally, I don\'t feel comfortable using his typefaces.Alessandro MingioneOct 4 2009 8:56 PM
It\'s fun to see how somebody has a pressing urge to mention that Mr Gill fucked his dog in every discussion about him (or Gill Sans).
Anyway, many great people was philo-nazist, but we all benefit of the products of their minds.
Great typeface (in light, regular, bold) and great uppercase letters!Dinah SandersOct 5 2009 7:30 PM
Yes, unsavory man, but I\'m extremely fond of the typeface, particularly in its lighter weights.
My other half named a delicious cocktail after the font because, well, it just tastes like Gill Sans. Recipe here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinah/2263535653/Eve SiegelOct 13 2009 9:47 PM
It\'s always tough to separate the artist from his personal life. It\'s one reason why people have trouble listening to Wagner--he was an anti-semite, and the Nazis, Hitler in particular, thought he was wonderful.
BrianOct 15 2009 10:41 AM
Just a thought. It would be really cool if for the Know Your Type series, there was a diagram of some sort, identifying certain details of the letterforms which make a typeface recognizable. For example... highlighting the leg of the R of Gill Sans as a way to identify it.
mooncaineNov 11 2009 4:46 PM
@ Brian: I like the way you think. A link to a visual guide, for non-fontheads, would be great, too, for explaining what descenders and finials are, for example.
MatheusFeb 3 2010 1:56 PM
Suggestions for next \"Know Your Type\" series:
Helvetica
Didot
Eurostile
Frutiger
Optima
I love these series! I think you should make a \"special\" website only for them!
Anyway, keep up these great series!