Gotham (typeface)

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Typeface	Gotham
Category	Sans-serif
Classifications	Geometric sans-serif
Designer(s)	Tobias Frere-Jones
Foundry	Hoefler & Frere-Jones
Date released	2000
Variations	Gotham Rounded, Gotham Condensed

Gotham is a family of geometric sans serif typefaces designed by American type designer Tobias Frere-Jones in 2000. Gotham's letterforms are inspired by a form of architectural signage that achieved popularity in the mid-twentieth century, and are especially popular throughout New York City. (Designer Tobias Frere-Jones credits the sign on the Eighth Avenue facade of New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal, an especially clear example of this style, as an artifact which inspired the Gotham project.)

Gotham is characterized by unmannered geometric forms, and a generous x-height that makes it exceptionally readable at small sizes. Unlike the signs on which it was based, the Gotham family contains a number of different weights and widths, as well as italics. It has been a popular typeface for both publishing and advertising, and has returned full circle to its architectural roots: on July 4, 2004, it was unveiled on the cornerstone of the new Freedom Tower, to be built on the site of the former World Trade Center.

[edit] References

Friedl, Frederich, Nicholas Ott and Bernard Stein. Typography: An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Through History. Black Dog & Leventhal: 1998. ISBN 1-57912-023-7.
Macmillan, Neil. An A–Z of Type Designers. Yale University Press: 2006. ISBN 0-300-11151-7.