WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--One of the most comprehensive remasterings of classic typefaces has come to life in the new Eric Gill series, introduced today by Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: TYPE), a leading provider of typefaces, technology and expertise for creative applications and consumer devices. Comprising 77 fonts in three typeface families – the Gill Sans® Nova, Joanna® Nova and Joanna Sans Nova designs – the series is a fresh take and expansion of one of the world’s most popular typefaces of all time, Gill Sans, in addition to the book typeface, Joanna, originally designed in the 1920s and 30s by artist and typeface designer, Eric Gill. The original Gill Sans typeface has graced the world’s visual culture for decades with prominent appearances in film titles like “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and brand identities such as the BBC, British Railways, Penguin Books, John Lewis, Net-A-Porter and Betty Crocker, among many others.
The Eric Gill series features the work of four Monotype typeface designers – Steve Matteson, George Ryan, Ben Jones and Terrance Weinzierl – who collaborated across different parts of the globe, drawing on Monotype’s rich heritage and expertise to reinvigorate Gill’s body of work – and brings the designs into the 21st century for use in a broad range of digital and print applications. The new typefaces, as well as Gill-related archive materials, are on display starting today at the Truman Brewery in London. The exhibition runs through Nov. 10, 2015. In addition, the new typefaces are available for license and download from MyFonts, Fonts.com and Linotype.com.
“Appreciation for type and design has expanded beyond the creative community and is now an important element of nearly everyone’s daily lives. We thought it was the perfect time for Monotype to take one of the most popular typefaces of all time and provide an enhanced palette of typographic possibilities for today’s designers,” said Steve Matteson, creative type director at Monotype who oversaw the Eric Gill series project. “Our work with the series spotlights the role Monotype continuously plays with respect to the past, present and future of type, where we have the unique ability to revive well-loved, legacy designs with new weights, characters and languages.”
Similar to the remastering of movie classics, where light, color, sound and lost scenes are digitally restored for modern audiences to experience, the Eric Gill series is a remastering of celebrated typefaces, transformed into fuller, crisper, contemporary versions fit for today’s digital environments. During Gill’s time, brands and advertisers reached consumers through printed materials like newspapers and magazines. But now the world is digital, extending far beyond print and into a wide range of connected touchpoints, from smartphones and laptops to tablets, e-readers, automotive displays and other devices. The new Eric Gill series brings the beauty and unique characteristics of Gill’s original designs for use in a multitude of modern environments.
Many added touches in the series were influenced by Gill himself, thanks to a rich inventory of original drawings and materials Gill left behind, stored in Monotype’s historical archive. The series also features an original, Gill-inspired typeface by Monotype’s Terrance Weinzierl, created specifically with digital applications in mind. Joanna Sans Nova draws on the humanist qualities of Gill’s Joanna but in a sans serif form, offering a crisp, comfortable look-and-feel, suitable for a wide range of digital reading environments. A version of Joanna Sans ships with the NOOK GlowLight eReader from Barnes & Noble, the largest retail bookseller in the U.S. and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products.
Eric Gill series typefaces
- Designer: George Ryan of Monotype
- Number of fonts: 43 (up from 18 in the original Gill Sans) from ultra light to ultra bold, in addition to a full suite of new condensed weights
- New display weights: a suite of six inline weights, as well as shadowed outline fonts revived from the original design that was never digitized, and the Gill Sans Nova Deco typeface, previously withdrawn from the Monotype library
- Language support: Latin-based, Greek and Cyrillic (Latin-based only for display weights)
- OpenType® feature support for fine typography, as well as stylized characters from different points in Gill Sans’s long history
- Designer: Ben Jones of Monotype
- Number of fonts: 18 (up from six in the original Joanna), from thin to ultra black
- Language support: Latin-based languages, Greek and Cyrillic
- OpenType feature support for fine typography, including small caps for all scripts, numeral options and context-sensitive ligatures
- Designer: Terrance Weinzierl of Monotype
- Number of fonts: 16, from thin to black
- Language support: Latin-based languages, Greek and Cyrillic
- OpenType feature support for fine typography, such as small caps, ligatures, old style and proportional figures, fractions, superscript/subscript figures
Quotes from the Eric Gill series typeface designers
Gill Sans Nova designer, George Ryan - “Gill Sans was fast to strike a chord with people after its initial 1928 release and quickly became popular. It’s been adapted for every publishing technology, from mechanical typesetting to digital techniques – always receiving the best treatment from Monotype in each iteration – even more so today with all that we’ve added, while still retaining the familiarity of Gill Sans. My goal was to ensure clarity across digital environments, add missing weights, and bring more personality to the family with new display fonts, as well as Gill-inspired alternate characters and OpenType features.”
Joanna Nova designer, Ben Jones - “Gill’s aim with Joanna was to create, as he put it, ‘a book face free from all fancy business.’ Even a cursory glance will tell you that this book face does in fact have its fair share of ‘fancy business,’ but it’s those idiosyncratic details that make Joanna such a distinctive typeface. The original Joanna consisted of only a few weights, and I had the challenge of expanding the design into a rich, contemporary family. While examining Gill’s materials in the Monotype archive, I drew inspiration from some of the Gill Sans weights to design the more extreme styles of Joanna Nova.”
Joanna Sans Nova designer, Terrance Weinzierl - “I wanted my design to appear familiar but still look fresh. My goal was to achieve a balance of simplicity, beauty, and usability. I've always been a fan of Gill's work, and I found the simple, humanist qualities of Joanna really fitting for a sans design. I wanted to make something with Gill flavor, but with more harmony in the extreme weights than Gill Sans, and with my twist on it. I worked painstakingly hard to make sure my design was worthy of the Joanna Sans name, without being an unimaginative alteration of the serif.”
Availability
The Eric Gill series is available as follows, with introductory offers available through Dec. 4, 2015, when licensing the packs from www.myfonts.com, www.fonts.com or www.linotype.com.
- Eric Gill Series Complete Pack (77 fonts) is $/€ 799 – Introductory Price: $/€ 199
- Gill Sans Nova Complete Family Pack (43 fonts) is $/€ 499 MSRP – Introductory Price: $/€ 99
- Joanna Nova Complete Family Pack (18 fonts) is $/€ 399 MSRP – Introductory Price: $/€ 99
- Joanna Sans Nova Complete Family Pack (16 fonts) is $/€ 399 MSRP –Introductory Price: $/€ 99
About Monotype
Monotype is a leading global provider of typefaces, technology and expertise that enable the best user experience and ensure brand integrity. Headquartered in Woburn, Mass., Monotype provides customers worldwide with typeface solutions for a broad range of creative applications and consumer devices. The company’s libraries and e-commerce sites are home to many of the most widely used typefaces – including the Helvetica®, Frutiger® and Univers® families – as well as the next generation of type designs. Further information is available at www.monotype.com. Follow Monotype on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Gill Sans and Joanna are trademarks of The Monotype Corp. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. Monotype, Helvetica and Frutiger are trademarks of Monotype Imaging Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Univers is a trademark of Monotype GmbH registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. OpenType is either a trademark or registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2015 Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. All rights reserved.
