wdr@wang.com (William Ricker) (04/12/91)
> From: td@research.att.com > (Mike Hawley 9mike@tome.media.mit.edu forwarded your message about Johnson > and Gill Sans to me.) > Johnson's Underground face (usu. just called `Johnson' by people I've > talked to) is also used in the Toronto subway for station names and on > some signs. Many other TTC signs use Helvetica. I wish they wouldn't > do that, but I suspect that they hired a decent typographical consultant > when the subway was built (1952), and have had Ontario College of Art > (the local commercial-art school) interns do all of their signage ever > after. In isolation, Helvetica looks merely ill-proportioned and ugly. > In the same room with Johnson, it makes me want to run screaming from > the premises. From wdr Thu Apr 11 [me] In-Reply-To: [the above] Argh! mixing Johnson Underground & Helvetica? That might not look as bad as mixing, say, Optima with Franklin Gothic, but I don't recall seeing anyone do *that*. May I have your permission to forward your commentary back to the original venue, the COMP.FONTS newsgroup? [He consented.] I would readily agree that Helvetica is muchly over-rated. It's an improvement over ruboff Gothics (Franklin, News, etc), but there are *pleasant* sans faces. I think I could like Optima, Futura, or Gill Sans. ------ end quotation, begin paraphrase ------ Does anyone know of any sources for Johnson Underground in Film, Metal, or Bits? Or is it only used in large enough size that it's Pen,Ink,Brush technology? (Which would leave Gill Sans as the related Film/Metal/Bits face.) T.D. once saw a sample sheet of Underground, but doesn't remeber where; "probably in a history of the London Underground." If it exists no-where except as sample sheets, we can revive it as an outline font, if someone can find the samples! [I gather such "piracy" of fonts is unfortunately perfectly legal in the U.S.; this is why Zapf and some foundries include their trademarks in their face-names now, so they get some brand protection at least.] /s/ Bill Ricker wdr@wang.wang.com "The Freedom of the Press belongs to those who own one." *** Warning: This account is not authorized to express opinions. *** -- /s/ Bill Ricker wdr@wang.wang.com "The Freedom of the Press belongs to those who own one." *** Warning: This account is not authorized to express opinions. ***
ross@bmers213.bnr.ca (Ross Brown) (04/12/91)
In article <b3qhwy.2nn@wang.com>, wdr@wang.com (William Ricker) writes: |> |> > From: td@research.att.com |> |> > (Mike Hawley 9mike@tome.media.mit.edu forwarded your message about Johnson |> > and Gill Sans to me.) |> |> > Johnson's Underground face (usu. just called `Johnson' by people I've |> > talked to) is also used in the Toronto subway for station names and on |> > some signs. Many other TTC signs use Helvetica. I wish they wouldn't |> > do that, but I suspect that they hired a decent typographical consultant |> > when the subway was built (1952), and have had Ontario College of Art |> > (the local commercial-art school) interns do all of their signage ever |> > after. In isolation, Helvetica looks merely ill-proportioned and ugly. |> > In the same room with Johnson, it makes me want to run screaming from |> > the premises. |> |> From wdr Thu Apr 11 [me] |> In-Reply-To: [the above] |> |> Argh! mixing Johnson Underground & Helvetica? That might not look |> as bad as mixing, say, Optima with Franklin Gothic, but I don't |> recall seeing anyone do *that*. Before we get all hot about the TTC, which I've used often, let me straighten this out: The original TTC face is not Johnston Underground, and the new one is not Helvetica. The original is one I have not seen used elsewhere, but it's pretty typical of 1930-1960 sign alphabets - low crossbars on caps (E, P, R), letter forms composed entirely of straight lines and circular arcs. The new face is standard Univers. The mixture is odd, especially since they seem to be reverting to the old face on the old lines. ============================================================================== Ross Brown, Dept. 7D76 < Bell-Northern Research > Just the facts, ma'am. ross@bnr.ca < P. O. Box 3511, Station C > We don't care whose awol@awol.on.can.na < Ottawa, ON, Canada K1Y 4H7 > opinions yours aren't. ==============================================================================