News Gothic
Encyclopedia
News Gothic is a realist sans-serif
typeface
designed by Morris Fuller Benton
, and released by the American Type Founders
(ATF) in 1908. The typeface was originally drawn in two lighter weights, a medium text weight using the title News Gothic, and a closely related light weight marketed under the name Lightline Gothic. The typeface family was enlarged in 1958 with the addition of two bold weights. News Gothic is similar in proportion and structure to Franklin Gothic
also designed by Benton.
News Gothic, like other Benton sans serif typefaces, follows the grotesque model. Shapes which distinguish it from the neo-grotesque are the two-story lowercase a and the two-story lowercase g. Also distinctive are the blunt terminus at the apex of the lowercase t, and the location of the tail of the uppercase Q completely outside the bowl. The letter forms are compact, and descenders are shallow. The typeface differs from other realist sans-serifs in its organic shapes and subtle transitions of stroke width, all contributing to a less severe, humanist tone of voice. For much of the twentieth century News Gothic was used in newspaper and magazine publishing.
News Gothic is available in standard, condensed, and extra condensed widths, each with a matching bold and italic. The standard width typeface is available in light, standard, demi, and bold weights, each with a matching italic. The condensed and extra condensed widths are ideal for use in tables and parts lists.
Because there is no active descendant of the American Type Founders Corporation making digital typefaces, News Gothic has been revived in digital form in many different versions from different sources. Adobe
, Monotype, Linotype
, Bitstream
and The Font Bureau all have their own versions.
The use of the term "Gothic" is an early twentieth century misnomer for sans-serifs, found mostly in the United States and Canada. In the UK the term Gothic is occasionally used, but more often the term "grotesque" is used for sans-serifs. In Germany the term "Grotesk" is used.
The OpenType version of the No. 2 family comes in 6 weights with complementary italic fonts, supports ISO Adobe 2, Adobe CE, Latin Extended character sets.
is an expanded font family from the Font Bureau
, based on News Gothic.
Linotype Gothic, which was based on Heidelberg Gothic, is a variant with italic type
glyphs.
A Cyrillic version was developed for ParaType in 2005 by Dmitry Kirsanov, based on Bitstream's version of News Gothic.
Sans-serif
In typography, a sans-serif, sans serif or san serif typeface is one that does not have the small projecting features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. The term comes from the French word sans, meaning "without"....
typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
designed by Morris Fuller Benton
Morris Fuller Benton
Morris Fuller Benton was an influential American typeface designer who headed the design department of the American Type Founders , for which he was the chief type designer from 1900 to 1937...
, and released by the American Type Founders
American Type Founders
American Type Founders was a business trust created in 1892 by the merger of 23 type foundries, representing about 85% of all type manufactured in the United States...
(ATF) in 1908. The typeface was originally drawn in two lighter weights, a medium text weight using the title News Gothic, and a closely related light weight marketed under the name Lightline Gothic. The typeface family was enlarged in 1958 with the addition of two bold weights. News Gothic is similar in proportion and structure to Franklin Gothic
Franklin Gothic
Franklin Gothic and its related faces are realist sans-serif typefaces originated by Morris Fuller Benton in 1902. “Gothic” is an increasingly archaic term meaning sans-serif. Franklin Gothic has been used in many advertisements and headlines in newspapers. The typeface continues to maintain a...
also designed by Benton.
News Gothic, like other Benton sans serif typefaces, follows the grotesque model. Shapes which distinguish it from the neo-grotesque are the two-story lowercase a and the two-story lowercase g. Also distinctive are the blunt terminus at the apex of the lowercase t, and the location of the tail of the uppercase Q completely outside the bowl. The letter forms are compact, and descenders are shallow. The typeface differs from other realist sans-serifs in its organic shapes and subtle transitions of stroke width, all contributing to a less severe, humanist tone of voice. For much of the twentieth century News Gothic was used in newspaper and magazine publishing.
News Gothic is available in standard, condensed, and extra condensed widths, each with a matching bold and italic. The standard width typeface is available in light, standard, demi, and bold weights, each with a matching italic. The condensed and extra condensed widths are ideal for use in tables and parts lists.
Because there is no active descendant of the American Type Founders Corporation making digital typefaces, News Gothic has been revived in digital form in many different versions from different sources. Adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
, Monotype, Linotype
Linotype
The Mergenthaler Linotype Company is a corporation founded in the United States in 1886 to market the linecaster invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler...
, Bitstream
Bitstream
A bitstream or bit stream is a time series of bits.A bytestream is a series of bytes, typically of 8 bits each, and can be regarded as a special case of a bitstream....
and The Font Bureau all have their own versions.
The use of the term "Gothic" is an early twentieth century misnomer for sans-serifs, found mostly in the United States and Canada. In the UK the term Gothic is occasionally used, but more often the term "grotesque" is used for sans-serifs. In Germany the term "Grotesk" is used.
News Gothic No. 2
No. 2 is an enhanced version of News Gothic produced by the D. Stempel AG type foundry in 1984. It adds more weights to the News Gothic family than were available in other versions.The OpenType version of the No. 2 family comes in 6 weights with complementary italic fonts, supports ISO Adobe 2, Adobe CE, Latin Extended character sets.
Variants
Benton SansBenton Sans
Benton Sans is a digital typeface family begun by Tobias Frere-Jones in 1995, and expanded by Cyrus Highsmith of Font Bureau. It was a reworked version of Benton Gothic developed for various corporate customers, under Frere-Jones's guidance. In developing the typeface, Frere-Jones studied drawings...
is an expanded font family from the Font Bureau
Font Bureau
The Font Bureau, Inc. or Font Bureau is a digital type foundry based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The foundry is one of the leading designers of typefaces, specializing in type designs for magazine and newspaper publishers....
, based on News Gothic.
Linotype Gothic, which was based on Heidelberg Gothic, is a variant with italic type
Italic type
In typography, italic type is a cursive typeface based on a stylized form of calligraphic handwriting. Owing to the influence from calligraphy, such typefaces often slant slightly to the right. Different glyph shapes from roman type are also usually used—another influence from calligraphy...
glyphs.
A Cyrillic version was developed for ParaType in 2005 by Dmitry Kirsanov, based on Bitstream's version of News Gothic.
Usages
- The identity for the Brooklyn Academy of MusicBrooklyn Academy of MusicBrooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
, designed by Michael Beirut, heavily uses News Gothic. - The bold variant of News Gothic is used in the logo for the Swedish pop group ABBAABBAABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, a logo conceived in 1976 by Rune Söderqvist. It should also be noted that the scanning used for the logo comes from AdobeAdobe SystemsAdobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
, not Monotype. The font is/was also used in promotional materials for the group, as well as CD and DVD liner notes. - News Gothic Bold is also used in the artwork for The Fame MonsterThe Fame MonsterThe Fame Monster is the third EP by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released on November 18, 2009 through Interscope Records. Initially planned to be included on a re-release of Gaga's debut studio album, The Fame, she announced that the eight tracks would be included on a standalone...
by Lady GagaLady GaGaStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, possibly in a deliberate stylistic homage to ABBAABBAABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
. - News Gothic Bold was used in the Star Wars opening crawlStar Wars opening crawlEach film in the Star Wars series opens with a crawl of text which provides an explanation of the backstory and context of the film...
for the main body of the text. - News Gothic Bold was used in Saul Bass' opening title sequence for Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 thriller, Psycho.
- The version of News Gothic which was on IBM typesetters was used widely by Fluxus artists such as George MaciunasGeorge MaciunasGeorge Maciunas was a Lithuanian-born American artist. He was a founding member of Fluxus, an international community of artists, architects, composers, and designers...
(in his Fluxpublications) and George BrechtGeorge BrechtGeorge Brecht , born George Ellis MacDiarmid, was an American conceptual artist and avant-garde composer as well as a professional chemist who worked as a consultant for companies including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Mobil Oil...
(in his event scores) - The logo adopted by Polaroid Corporation in the late 1950s, designed by Paul GiambarbaPaul GiambarbaPaul Giambarba is an American graphic designer, cartoonist, writer and illustrator.Giambarba's most recent work was introduced at the International Center of Photography in New York City on 18 December 2009, a collection of 15 film and 3 camera packages for the Paul Giambarba Edition of Polaroid...
, is set in News Gothic, as was much of the type on the company's packaging and documentation up until the 1980s.