Claire Novis „Are we going to get bored of Gill Sans?‰ „In graphic design, which is better: originality or relevance?‰ 346 DVA Design in Context 3, A Dissertation for the Degree BA (Hons) Graphic Design, Coventry University, School of Art and Design, Design and Visual Arts, 2013-14 1 Abstract For my dissertation I will be discussing the typeface Gill Sans. It is a well-known type used throughout the industry renowned for its beauty and quirkiness. I have explored whether we will eventually get bored of it due to misuse and over use. With sans serifs such as Helvetica being so successful there is a chance older types such as Gill Sans could get forgotten about and chosen over. I am exploring whether it contains enough qualities and features to make it still desirable in todayÊs industry. Furthermore, does the type have enough prestige attached to it that it will continue to be used because of its reputation throughout the industry previously? My main argument is based on my thesis that its quirkiness will be Gill SansÊs saviour. We therefore need to be smarter about how we use Gill Sans and specialise it if we are not to get bored of it. Discussed are qualities it possesses to stop this and how Gill Sans can be executed successfully based on its previous usage. DesignerÊs works are analysed as well as the typeface itself. By doing this and getting under the skin of the type, I am therefore able to determine how to stop others from getting bored of it. The majority of the evidence is based on qualitative data from sources such as designers and critics, using a range of book, online and audio sources. By using a combination of both historical content and my own/others personal experience of the type I concluded that in the case of Gill Sans both originality and relevance were equally as important. 2 Contents Title Page⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄..1 Abstract⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄2 Contents⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄...3 Figures⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄...4 Introduction⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄......5 Usage and History ⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄...9 Features and what makes it so usable⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄....17 Conclusion⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄................20 References⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄................23 Bibliography⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄..............24 3 Figures 1 Viction:ary (2012) I Love Gill Sans Hong Kong: viction:workshop Ltd, 6. 2 Viction:ary (2012) I Love Gill Sans Hong Kong: viction:workshop Ltd, 6. 3 Face First Creative (2012) Gill Sans vs. Johnston Sans: If Britain Was A Typeface [Online] available from < http://www.facefirstcreative.com/blog/articles/gill-sans-vs-johnston-sans-if- britain-was-typeface>[14/1/14]. 4 Squidoo (2014) Gill Sans Typeface By Eric Gill [Online] available from < http://www.squidoo.com/gill-sans-typeface> [18/1/14]. 5 Eye Magazine Limited (2012) Signature Typeface [Online] available from < http://www.eyemagazine.com/blog/post/signature-typeface> [21/12/13]. 6 Lillis, E. (2007) Passport To Gill Sans [Online] available from < http://www.cheerydreary.com/projects/print/passport_to_gill_sans.pdf> [19/12/13]. 4 Introduction Gills Sans is a Monotype sans serif font created by type designer and stone carver Eric Gill. It is one of the most successful and widely used typefaces in the design industry and has maintained its popularity to the current day. Gill Sans has been released for nearly one hundred years and has successfully made the transition from a metaltype through the digital transition. It is a typeface renowned for its beauty and elegance, yet still being functional and legible. Is it however, starting to run its course, with so many other contenders and newcomers in the sans serif type category? Gill Sans has been around for many years and has become well used within the industry, but has it been used so often that it has now lost its flare? Are people getting tired/bored of using it because of this? Do we need to be smarter about the way we use Gill Sans if we are not to get bored of it and does it have enough qualities to make it still desirable in todayÊs industry. Finally, in the case of Gill Sans, which is more important, relevance or originality? Eric Gill did not consider himself to be a type designer, stating that because he had not been „brought up in the trade‰ that he „could never be anything but an amateur‰(Gill 1940: 118). He described himself first and foremost, as a stone carver but he was also a book designer and illustrator, an artist and a particularly witty writer. Gill Sans the typeface however, remains one of his most successful works to date, remaining both relevant and current in todayÊs design industry, „its timeless, a perfect balance of modern and classic.‰(Gutierrez n.d. cited in Viction:ary 2012: 46). Gill, born in 1882 had always had a love for lettering dating right back to his early school days. He had a particular fascination and interest in making drawings of railroads, signals and bridges. This naturally progressed into the process of drawing typefaces, as these designs were similar to the geometric, typographical sketches. 5 Signage relies heavily on the ability to produce a legible, consistent type and his interest and enthusiasm in this area meant his skills developed very quickly. Gill later went onto study at Chichester Technical and Art school where he became skilled in the art of lettering in the decorative style, which bore a resemblance to the Art Nouveau movement which was popular at the time. Edward Johnston played a large part in the evolution and creation of Gill Sans even though coincidentally his typeface later became one of Gill SansÊs main rivals. Gill was a former student of JohnstonÊs and he undertook multiple writing and lettering classes given by him at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. After being taught by Johnston, GillÊs perception and purpose was altered, leading him to work with a more precise and direct approach, „it helped him shake off Âthe art nonsenseÊ of his Chichester days‰ (Middendorp 2012 cited in Viction:ary 2012: 4). He applied the new principles he had acquired from Johnston and combined them with his calligraphy background, developing his craft. He went onto create typefaces such as Perpetua and Joanna as a result, before eventually crafting what was later to be Gill Sans, as we know it. The making of Gill Sans arrived when Gill was approached by Stanley Morrison with a new proposal, to create an up to date Monotype sans serif typeface, BritainÊs own answer to German Paul RennerÊsÊ typeface, Futura. Morison was a British designer and typographer; he is most famous for creating the typeface Times New Roman. Morison believed Figure 1- First Gill would be most suitable for the job as he was a letter cutter. He hand drawn sketches that had also previously seen a set of capitals that were used for a came to be Gill Sans bookshopÊs labels and placards. Gill had designed these for the 6 bookseller Douglas Cleverdon, originally sending over initial hand drawn sketches of the type (figure 1). Gill was later on asked to paint the fascia on the front of the bookshop; Gill chose the „block letter‰(figure 2). When Morison saw the result he wanted Gill to develop these capitals, as he believed they could evolve into the typeface he had been searching for. Gill agreed to complete and supply Morison with a full set of alphabets in both upper Figure 2- Hand painted sign for bookshop by Gill and lower case. These designs then became the standard type regular Gill Sans. Gill Sans was popularised because of the number of famous brands and companies that have used it. The typeface is displayed across a range of media including books, posters, displays, logos, sculptures, magazines and shop fronts dating from the early years of Gill Sans up to the present day. After the typeface was first used on Douglas CleverdonÊs bookshop fascia in 1926, Gill went onto to expand the capitals he had used into a full upper and lowercase alphabet. Following this, Monotype commercially released the full typeface in 1928 under the name it is known as today. Gill Sans first came to real popularity in 1929 when it became the principal typeface for the face of railway company LNER, being used on locomotive plates right the way through to its poster designs. The typeface was particularly noted for being used on the nameplate of historical steam train, the ÂFlying ScotsmanÊ. Similar to the previous shop front Gill had produced, this nameplate was also hand painted. Gill Sans was next seen in the industry being used on a very different media. In 1935, designer Edward Young used Gill Sans on the jackets of Penguin book covers, putting it on bookshelves worldwide. It was also around this time that Gill Sans became MonotypeÊs fifth 7 best selling typeface of the twentieth century. Gill Sans was well on its way to being one of, if not the most successful typeface of its time. Since then many other brands, particularly those of British origin, have used it including the BBC, British Railways, The British Post Office, Microsoft and Mac OS x. Gills Sans gradually became used more and more for body text in magazines and administrative documents as people got used to reading a sans serif in blocks. It also became more widely used for childrenÊs books and non-fiction novels because of its clarity of construction. 8 Usage and History The introduction briefly discussed the history of Gill Sans usage, but it is useful to go into a more in-depth analysis of its use in the industry and why it was chosen. This can help to assess how it can be used in the future so we do not get bored of it.