Type Analysis

Gotham Font- Masculine, New and Fresh

The font Gotham was created in 2000 by type designer Tobias Frere- Jones who drew inspiration and influences from post-war signage and hand-painted letters seen around New York City. Gotham was commissioned by men's fashion magazine GQ yo create a new typeface for this publication. The typeface Gotham connotes masculine, new and fresh. This description was taken from the Hoefler & Frere-Jones website and fits it so perfectly: "Gotham is that rarest of designs, the new typeface that somehow feels familiar. From the lettering that inspired it, Gotham inherited an honest tone that’s assertive but never imposing, friendly but never folksy, confident but never aloof." Gotham has only been around 12 years yet has made a lasting impact, it is also said it rivals Helvetica-  yet I disagree with this.

The font Gotham is perhaps most well-known from the successful Obama 2008 presidential campaign, as it does have a bold American feel to it. As well as it connotes confidence, boldness and a sort of determinedness  (as well as it has been used as the cornerstone of the One World Trade Centre- the tower to be built on the site of the former World Trade Centre), Hoefler and Fre-Johns. Gotham has been referred to as the typeface of the decade.

Gotham is a family of widely used geometric sans-serif typefaces, especially popular through out New York City. The lettering that inspired this typeface originated from the 1920s era sans-serif like Futura. It is a very new typeface that somehow feels very familiar. Gotham is a humanist font and very geometric. Recently, I have been noticing this typeface everywhere, I love how versatile it is. The typeface connotes confidence, not an arrogant confidence a really attractive confidence. 

Obama 2008 presidential campaign poster