GOTHAM A HISTORY

The Gotham typeface was commissioned by GQ magazine, editors wanted a new font that fused a geometric, masculine and fresh style into a new font.   Gotham  was designed in 2000 by American designer Tobias Frere-Jones.    On a historical note it is found emerging and inspired by architectural lettering of the 1920s era and more so the, 1930s American Sans-Serifs and NEW YORK CITY’S argot lettering in building thrown together by engineers and draftsmen.  The inspiration for Gotham came from New York’s port Authority bus terminal.

Otherwise emerging  from urban landscape of New York.  American in Its own right.   The Gotham typeface is a result inspired by futura that mixed a general design approach. The association of the typeface with New York City it is one of the first American made geometric and modern typefaces. Gotham is multipurpose and is used in an assortment of ways.  It is most often seen in logos for big brands. It is more humanistic, which makes it more ordinary but very up-to-date and new. 

First used by men’s fashion magazine GQ who lost the license in 2002 seen the font being released publicly.  Since creation Gotham has been highly visible due to its appearance in many places.  It has been used by newspapers, corporate logos, movie posters and packaging for brands such as  Coca-Cola, Netflix, Crest.  It formed the central election campaign material in the 2008 US Presidential election used by John Edwards and Barack Obama.     The font was also used by the Australian Labor Party in 2016.  Other major branding campaigns or brands have incorporated and used Gotham.  For example  2014 FIFA World Cup logo, the 2016 Chicago Olympics and is used by Saturday Night Live. Most recently The  Cartoon Network Logo, Twitter logo and Miami University.   The font has also been used as the cornerstone of the One World Trade C enter, the tower built on the site of the former world trade centre in New York.  It is also the current font to be used by MPAA title cards for film trailers in the U.S.

Business Cards

The Gotham Typeface was Custom-made by GQ magazine, editors wanted a new font that FUSED a GEOMETRIC, MASCULINE and FRESH style­ [GQ Magazine 2018].  It was designed in 2000 by American designer Tobias Frere-Jones.    On a historical note it is found emerging and inspired by architectural lettering of the 1920s era and more so the, 1930s American Sans-Serifs and NEW YORK CITY’S argot lettering in building thrown together by engineers and draftsmen[Tobias Frere-jones]. 

Poster 2