Typophile

Suggestions for modern sans similar to Freight Sans (sort of)

peter_monrad

Hi,

It seems like a lot of designers are now using sans that aren't exactly 'geometrical' like Gotham, Helvetica etc. I recently purchased Freight Sans, but are curious to what else it out there. Whitney is in the same style I guess and Stag Sans is great too. What is the official name of this style of sans font?

The font I'm looking for would be similar to Freight sans (with or without two story g), but I would like something a bit cleaner if you know what I mean.

I've included some images of various fonts. The new sans font from Wired magazine has already been discussed in here somewhere, but I'd still like to know more about it.

Font from Wired Magazine

Font from The Independent Magazine

Font from Outside Magazine

I know that the fonts in Wired and Outside are most likely custom fonts, so suggestions for similar fonts are very welcome.

peter_monrad

The font from Independent 'Lovely Rita' could actually be Whitney, but it seems like it's neither the bold nor the black weight.

dougal

'Your best year ever' etc is Gotham I think

Stephen Coles

I would describe Freight, Stag, and Whitney as somewhere between humanist and gothic or grotesque. Whitney, for example, is based on the structure of a gothic (Trade Gothic) but its finish gives it a more humanist air.

Helvetica is commonly categorized as a "neo-grotesque".

The "Outside" font is not Gotham, though the caps are very similar. It's most likely something custom from Font Bureau, who often works with publishers like these. As for their retail fonts, you might dig their Antenna or Amplitude.

In the vein of Whitney are Lucas de Groot's Taz, Spiegel and Corpid.

New faces in the neo-grotesque realm include Maquette, Proxima Nova, Akkurat, and Paralucent (though this last one could be called a "neo-neo-grotesque" or "pseudo-neo-grot".

If you're interested in typeface classifications I highly recommend getting a copy of Bringhurst's "Elements of Typographic Style".

peter_monrad

Hi Stephen,

Thanks for the wise words and the terminology. I'll definitely order the book you mention.

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