Never has the Lancashire mill town of Ashton-under-Lyne looked so London Transport! More of that later. For six nights, commencing Monday, 11 March 1935, the town’s active Operatic Society staged their annual production; Rio Rita at the New Empire Theatre. As well as information as to the Society, the cast and plot, the souvenir programme includes a number of adverts for local concerns who were supporting the event. The Society’s first production had been in 1901 and, war years apart, a production had become an annual event.

The programme itself had a cover designed by John Albinson of neighbouring Oldham and the programme was also printed at the company’s Chapel Street Works in the town. Albinson’s had obviously availed themselves of typefaces from the Sheffield-based Stephenson Blake (SB) as many of the adverts are set in or use Granby typeface and indeed a few use the less common Granby Inlined.

I mentioned London Transport (LT) and that is because of the link between the capital’s transport undertaking, their Johnston typeface, and SB’s Granby; Granby was an effective copy of Johnston that was only available for LT’s use in wood block. The availablility of an effective Johnston “look-a-like” as a metal typeface was useful for LT and it was also available commercially. It was probably this utility for LT that allowed SB to issue it. It is also true that when issued in 1930, Granby was a useful competitor for SB to the new Gill Sans typeface.

This advert is for Dodd’s of neighbouring Oldham and is for cotton machinery; Oldham was one of the world's biggest cotton towns amongst the many other Lancastrian boroughs whose wealth had been built on the textile trades. By 1935 the Lancashire industry was struggling for a variety of reasons and there would have been plenty of second-hand and reconditioned machinery for preparing, spinning and weaving cotton. Oldham was also noted for the various engineering companies such as Dodd’s who specialised in the textile machinery trade. The advert obviously uses old blocks, such as for the factory, as well as the newer Granby Inlined for the titling. Additional typefaces include Spartan, SB’s version of Copperplate Gothic; Winchester, their follower of Cheltenham; and Saint George a.k.a. Windsor Light.

US One Sheet (27″×41″) with artwork by John Alvin and an unexpected appearance of Granby for the tagline.

While the titles in The Eiger Sanction use Venture (see James’s contribution), the posters as well as the trailer feature another typeface by VGC that was also released in 1972: it’s Aquarius, a “semi-sans” (or semi-slab) by Ronald Arnholm. See it side by side with Venture and other VGC novelty faces in the December 1972 issue of Industrial Art Methods on Mark Simonson’s website.

Aquarius is used in caps from one of its bolder weights for the title as well as for Clint Eastwood’s name. Co-star George Kennedy gets squooshed Helvetica Light, the names of Vonetta McGee and others are set in Univers Condensed.

[More info on IMDb]

British One Sheet (27″×40″) with artwork by Jean Mascii. The title here is shown with quote marks. Kabel Black is used for the tagline.

Still from the trailer

Still from the trailer

From LCC municipal, a website concerned with “the London County Council, GLC, pre- and post-1965 boroughs in London”. Strictly speaking, South Ribble as a borough of Lancashire in North West England falls outside their focus, but the typeface was too good – or weird – not to post this find to Twitter.

Issued in 1976, the guide uses Countdown on the cover. The futuristic face with the extreme and asymmetrical vertical contrast was made available as rubdown type by Letraset in 1965, as the first published typeface design by Colin Brignall (born in Warwickshire in 1940). “A typeface that says ‘together into the 1980s!’”, as Will Wiles notes in the replies.

Owen O’Doherty adds: “The combination of the two is great. Conjures images of teenage clerk on a mission, making selections from a limited stock at the small print shop round the corner from the town hall. ‘Do you have anything, y’know, trendy?’” The second typeface used for “Official Guide” is indeed quite different, and much older. Granby is an epigone of Edward Johnston’s Railway Type, AKA Johnston (1916), and also shares its distinctive diamond-shaped dots. It was issued by Sheffield-based type foundry Stephenson Blake in 1930.

A similar clash of periods and styles unfolds between the traditional coat of arms and the modernistic SR logo. On a side note, the motto shows lettering that appears to be based on Univers Condensed (at least the caps), a typeface that’s not much older than Countdown. The position of the SR logo with the hyperextended strokes suggests the layout is the outcome of a dogmatic design system. It’s certainly unusual to see an off-center coat of arms. All in all, it’s a wild mix. Thanks for sharing, Ian!

US half sheet poster, using Granby and Helvetica.

US and UK posters for Performance (1970), a pychedelic drama starring James Fox and Mick Jagger, written and directed by Donald Cammell (with co-direction by Nicoals Roeg).

(...)This gender-bending British film which signalled the end of the 1960s in something of the same way as the Altamont concert — the era of love and peace was morphing into a time of violence and madness, and this movie classically reflects that transition. “Performance” was not a great commercial success at the time of its release, and was treated more of an independent/arthouse affair than a large studio release (...). — vintagemovieposters.co.uk

Like the two main actors with their double roles, the movie title comes set in two different typefaces. Contrary to what one might expect, the original United Kingdom release posters use Futura, whereas the United States posters use the all-English Granby with its lozenge-shaped tittles and periods.

See also this Australian day bill poster, that adds Annonce to the mix.

UK quad poster using multiple weights of Futura.

Advertisement or poster for a showing of the movie in the West End theater, London.

US poster. A sticker was added, promoting the soundtrack performed by Mick Jagger.

Maruchan, Incorporated “was formed in 1977 and opened its first, ramen manufacturing plant in Irvine, California. America quickly discovered the convenience and great taste of Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soups.”

This programme for festivities to accompany rowing races in Henley-on-Thames at the 1948 Olympics is mostly set in Granby, Stephenson Blake’s humanist sans. Released to compete with Gill Sans (which is used for the italic small matter), it’s very similar to Johnston, the metal type of which Stephenson Blake crafted. It’s not, though, simply a commercial release of Johnston - while it’s similarly quite monoline (see the ‘a’ and 't') and shares the diamond dots motif, details like the single-storey ‘g’ and Futura-ish 'R' are its own. Printed by the local printers Higgs & Co, who are still in business. A dinner invitation from the same week uses Gill Sans italics and a spindly Old Style, presumably Monotype's.

Images from the Thames River & Rowing Museum at Henley, whose John Piper collection is also worth a visit if you're in the area. They don't credit the invitation as also being printed by Higgs, but the colour of ink and style is very similar.

I’ve never been entirely clear what the deal with Granby was. It turns up every now and then in trade printing of its time I've seen, but far, far less than Gill Sans - so much so that you wonder why anyone used it at all. Presumably some printers or designers really liked it. Higgs certainly seem to have used Granby as a bit of a staple: searching the museum's archive of their work (not necessarily representative as it only shows front covers, and publicity matter rather than their newspaper work), I find Granby used quite a lot from 1936 through to at least the early 1960s regularly, and as late as 1979 in one case.

Granby Cycles used Stephenson Blake's Granby in its advertisements in the 1930s.

According to the "Online Bike Museum" website, the marque, based in New Cross in south-east London, took the name from the nearby Marquis of Granby pub (this source dates its foundation to 1915 or slightly earlier), and operated until the 1960s. They used Granby in a wide range of adverts and brochures.

Since Granby Cycles got to the name first, it would be wonderful to know if they were Stephenson Blake’s inspiration for the name “Granby” or if this was a delightful in-joke. You can spot that it's not Gill Sans from the straight leg of the R and asymmetrical 3.

The Marquis (or Marquess) of Granby is a British aristocratic title given to members of the Manners family and named for a village in Nottinghamshire. The specific Marquis comemmorated is John Manners, who won a string of victories for Britain in the Seven Years War while taking considerable care by contemporary standards to keep his troops well-fed and treated, giving his name a traditional association with hospitality. The Dictionary of Pub Names reported that in 2006 at least twenty pubs existed named after him in London alone.

Dr. Scholl’s launched the Original Exercise Sandal in 1965. Sold in drugstores as a way to tone legs, the sandal became an iconic 60s fashion accessory when worn by Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy.

To mark the sandal's 50th anniversary, the collection was renamed the “The Original’s Sandal’s” and a new identity, using Venus Extended and Janson, was created. A booklet that tells the sandal’s story and an invitation to the collection preview uses Janson for text and Granby for punctuation.

Series One.

Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two series (seasons) and originally aired from 1975 to 1977.

Some dominating Futura Black hits you quickly over the head during the opening teaser sequence.

Granby in use for the closing credits.

Series Two.

British Transport Catering Services – Wine List and Menu from “The Merseyside Express”

The old British Transport Commission (that existed from 1948 until 1962) – and of which British Transport Catering was a subsidiary – had very high standards of graphic design and typography as this menu card and wine list cover shows. I suspect that the artwork is by Eric Fraser (although it is unusual for them not to show “EF” I will admit) as he undertook others in this series of “named train” cards. The design is based around the mythical “Liver Bird”. The “Merseyside Express” not surpringly ran between London Euston and Liverpool and is the shortened name for the “London – Merseyside Express” that had been introduced by the pre-nationalisation London Midland & Scottish Railway in 1927 although an earlier version, the name conferred on the 1730 ex-Euston, was introduced by the LNWR in 1905. Dinner – quite an event – was prices at 12/- (12 shillings – about 60p in decimal coinage).

Fonts In Use just turned three. That seems young, but it’s something like a teenager in internet years, right? Regardless, the more significant milestone came in mid-2012 when we launched the Collection, opening the archive to public submissions. Since then, we’ve experienced a growth spurt: the site now documents and discusses* over 3,200 designs using at least one of over 1,700 typeface families from hundreds of foundries. (*I use the present tense because Fonts In Use is a living archive — one in which entries of any age are easily accessible, cross-referenced, and with comment threads that are always open for new insights and discussion.)

Ok, numbers are nice, but what thrills us most about the new platform is what it can do. Over the last few months we improved our typeface pages, adding high-resolution samples, space for biographical information, and links to sources and related typefaces. We gave account holders the ability to create Sets and “Like” Uses. We expanded the Collection pages so they show more Uses and take advantage of wide screens. And we deployed an bunch of other enhancements that are best covered in another post.

We also welcomed new writers to the Blog so we can publish more frequent typographic histories, observations, and critiques.

Today, we celebrate our birthday with a few party favors. Introducing the first of an annual awards show. What follows is the “best of Fonts In Use in 2013”, as dictated by our editorial staff. This list of font uses and users is a glimpse into contemporary type-driven graphic design. We hope it surfaces content from the collection that you may have missed, and sparks you to contribute your own work — or work you admire — to the growing archive.

Uses of the Year

To us, great typography means thoughtful type choices used in skillful or unusual ways. The work below reached the pinnacle of that standard in 2013. The winners include designs from a range of formats, from exhibition and poster design to websites and book covers. They represent designers and studios from around the globe. And they span the gamut of typeface styles, both old and new, from over a dozen different foundries.

Big Plans Exhibition Design
Designed by Jessica Svendsen and Julia Novitch
Using Bureau Grot and Letter Gothic

1941: The Year That Keeps Returning Book Cover
Designed by Rumors
Using Puncho and DTL Fleischmann

Image, Building, Object Film Series Posters
Designed by James Goggin
Using Plak and an unreleased typeface by Laurenz Brunner

The Bling Ring Trailer and Posters
Designed by P+A and Silenzio Communication
Using Dom

Designing News
Designed by Francesco Franchi
Using Domaine, Atlas Grotesk, and Atlas Typewriter

Uses of the Year

Honorable Mentions

Stitching in my own way: The embroideries of Iris Todd

Stalkr Brand and Website

Kunst am Spreeknie Schöneweide Art Festival

2013 Pitchfork Music Festival Announcement

2013 Pitchfork Music Festival

2013 Pitchfork Music Festival App

Gargalo Nº 1, 2, 3, 4

Bambudda

Achtung: Berlin Symposium

Messages by Dillon Francis Music Video and Album Art

Belvedere Square Market Sign

Fritz Müller Sparkling Wines

Users of the Year

These graphic designers and studios produced several pieces that our staff recognized as exceptional typography. For this award we looked at all the Uses in the Collection credited to a designer, not just the work produced in 2013. (When we say “Users” we mean “font users”. The best users of the site are honored in the next section: “Contributors of the Year”.)

Pentagram

NYC Beaches identity

InsideOut SF poster diptych

Rockaway Beach Installations

The Printing House identity

This storied New York-based studio is well represented in our collection not just because they are famous or produce so much newsworthy, visible work, but because they obviously love type. Pentagram makes good use of a wide range of typefaces and they document that work well, writing about their type selection and giving credit to the font makers.

Nina Stössinger

“Zu bürgerlicher Eintracht und Vertraulichkeit”

10 Jahre Sprachenzentrum

kobebeef

Ästhetik des Opfers

Nina Stössinger is a Swiss designer of books and identities who uses a variety of typefaces (many of them very new) from various sources and lucidly articulates her choices on her site and Fonts In Use. We recognize her here not for her 2013 work, but for her rich contributions over the last three years. She can be excused for using less type recently because she’s been quite busy learning more about how to make it: Stössinger is currently a Type and Media graduate student at KABK in The Hague. She writes about that experience too.

Solo

Gargalo Liqueur

Deseo & Psiquiatría

Gargalo Wine

El valor del tiempo perdido

Solo is a Barcelona studio founded in 2011 by Óscar Germade. Their work for a range of luxury brands and editorial publications is characterized by restraint, setting stages in which the type itself is the focal point.

Studio Laucke Siebein

Angewandt Exhibition Materials

KinderKulturMonat (ChildrenCultureMonth)

Poster for Typography Lectures at HBK Saar

Flexa Creations Color Chips

Like Stössinger, this nod to Studio Laucke Siebein is more of a multi-year achievement award. Dirk Laucke (Amsterdam) and Johanna Siebein (Berlin) give new life to unusual and forgotten typefaces in their decidedly modern work.

Users of the Year

Honorable Mentions

Thomas Alberty, New York Magazine

Arem Duplessis, The New York Times Magazine

The New York Times Digital

TGG Hafen Senn Stieger

Robb Rice

Richard Turley, Bloomberg Businessweek

Contributors of the Year

Since we opened the site to public submissions in mid-2012, these Fonts In Use visitors contributed the most interesting and discussion-provoking Uses to the Collection. Not only did they upload good images of great work, but bonus points were awarded for adding insight, commentary, or critique.

Chris Purcell

After over 30 years as a designer and lettering artist at Hallmark Cards, Chris Purcell retired in 2012. Their loss is our gain: Chris has been a voracious contributor to Fonts In Use since then, adding over 40 Uses to the Collection. His submissions are broad ranging, covering many different industries, formats, and periods. The examples are sometimes from his own collection or documented with his own photography. And many of them are more than a simple image upload: they include his commentary, which often generates further discussion.

Mille Bornes Card Game (1960 Edition)

13-inch Lucite® ruler (1970s)

Smithsonian Magazine Table of Contents (1989 & 2013)

Maurice Meilleur

Along with some of his own fine work, Maurice Meilleur has contributed several pieces by other designers. Maurice is an MFA student in graphic design at the University of Illinois, and his literate, academic approach is very welcome among our ranks. We’re grateful for Maurice’s extra effort in spotting interesting work, writing a useful description, and producing good imagery, either from his own photos or images generated from PDFs.

University of Illinois

Isotype: Design & Contexts

De:Bug Magazin

Patch Hofweber

Patch Hofweber is a American ex-pat living in Malmö, Sweden. His contributions number over 20 to date, and focus on web and identity design, two areas of his own multidisciplinary expertise. He sometimes supplements his submissions with a bit of typographic critique, an attribute that served him well as one of our rare guest writers on the Fonts In Use Blog.

Julius: The Cards

Örnbergsauktionen 2013

A List Apart 5.0

Contributors of the Year

Honorable Mentions

Mine Creek

Robin Rendle

Michael Bojkowski

Contributors of the Year

Font Foundries & Providers

Letters from Sweden

TypeTogether

Rosetta

FontFont

bb-bureau (Benoît Bodhuin)

Editions 205

Sudtipos

Font Bureau

Webtype

Contributions of the Year

This is a placeholder for a future award, meant for those non-staff contributions that are exceptional in their visual documentation, critical analysis, and/or historical research. To get that ball rolling for 2014, here are a few Uses that were popular or controversial from last year:

Volksbühne Berlin Poster Campaign

The Other Times Modern

Cheers Logo and Opening Titles

Myspace 2013 Rebrand

Hessian

The Third Man Movie Poster

The Great Gatsby Film Promotion

2013 Tesla Model S Dashboard Display

Yahoo! Logo (2013)

Fonts In Frequent Use

In addition to the typefaces represented by our featured Uses and Users of the Year (most of which are shown in the main sidebar at the top of the page), the font families shown at right appeared most frequently in 2013 designs posted to Fonts In Use. This list only represents work in our Collection, so these certainly aren’t the most prevalent typefaces in all design today — that would be overlooking system/app bundled fonts, Core Web fonts, freebies, other perennially popular typefaces like Gotham, Interstate, and Neutraface, and revivals of classics like Caslon and Garamond. Yet they do reflect part of the current design zeitgeist: all sans serifs, most (except Alright Sans) are firmly in the static Gothic, Grotesque, or Geometric models. An odd outlier is ITC Serif Gothic. Nick Sherman has discovered that Lubalin and Di Spigna’s 1972 design is seeing a curious revival.

Early Users

Our observant co-editor Florian also noted these early adopters of typefaces newly released in 2013 or late 2012: Macula for Colin Smith, Audree for AwardsLine, Berlingske for A-Magasinet, Line for Rodeo, Domaine for Designing News, Magasin for Elle Decoration, MVB Solitaire for Assembly, FF Quixo for Publishing Design syllabus, FF Mark for Bench, Baton for L’Histoire du Diable, FF Dora for Gewone Letters, Landmark for Parc Olympique, Vinter for Queensland Ballet, and LL Circular for a number of uses.

What did we miss? With over 2,000 Uses added to the site in 2013, there is surely more typography worth honoring. What were your favorite font uses of 2013? Link ’em up in the comments below. And if your favorite design is not already in the Collection, now is the time to contribute. Your participation is vital to this endeavor.

“Redesign and packaging for the company owned by the well—known fashion designer Roberto Verino. The initial concept was born from the special situation of the wine house, residing on an slanted hill, under the impresive castle of Monterrey. A constant search of elegance and soberty works all across the stationary, packaging and communication items.” — Solo

Prestige Brochure for Gargalo wine company.

“Naming and label design for the new line of spirits of Gargalo, based on the traditional flavors of galician liqueurs: "Orujo", herbal liqueur, coffee liqueur and cream liqueur.

Each variety was given a number that consumers could easily identify and remember, creating a closer link with the company and maintaining the new corporate identity of sobriety and elegance.” — Solo

Justin Knopp:

Public Service Broadcasting commissioned us to design and letterpress print a limited edition (100 copies) poster, to accompany the launch of their debut album Inform, Educate, Entertain in May 2013.

Printed from antique Elongated Sans Serif wood type and Granby Light metal type onto high-quality 170gsm cartridge paper, signed and editioned by J. Willgoose Esq. himself.

Description: Royal Air Force recruitment poster
Date: c.1975
Our Catalogue Reference: INF 13/111

This image is from the collections of The National Archives. Feel free to share it within the spirit of the Commons.

For high quality reproductions of any item from our collection please contact our image library.

Description: Royal Air Force recruitment poster
Date: c.1975
Our Catalogue Reference: INF 13/111

This image is from the collections of The National Archives. Feel free to share it within the spirit of the Commons.

For high quality reproductions of any item from our collection please contact our image library.