0:00:02 > 0:00:05MUSIC: Mr Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra
0:00:10 > 0:00:13There are strange types in Britain that follow you around
0:00:13 > 0:00:15wherever you go...
0:00:19 > 0:00:23..telling you what to eat, what to drink...
0:00:23 > 0:00:25what to see and where to go.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31These types are so ubiquitous they're almost invisible.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36We don't even notice that they are there...
0:00:38 > 0:00:40..and yet they are alongside us...
0:00:43 > 0:00:47..in the background and foreground of everything we do,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50every single day...
0:00:55 > 0:00:59..creating a backdrop to Britain for the past century.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03They are, of course, typefaces -
0:01:03 > 0:01:05the way in which we read a word -
0:01:05 > 0:01:09on a shop front, a sign, a newspaper or a screen...
0:01:09 > 0:01:14and two types in particular are so fundamentally British,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17you're so used to them that you haven't even noticed them
0:01:17 > 0:01:19all around you.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22They are Johnston...
0:01:22 > 0:01:23and Gill Sans.
0:01:26 > 0:01:27In this programme,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30we will reveal how these typefaces have been scripting
0:01:30 > 0:01:32our lives for decades...
0:01:33 > 0:01:40..created by two unlikely and influential characters,
0:01:40 > 0:01:42one of whom had his reputation overshadowed
0:01:42 > 0:01:46by disturbing revelations about his personal life.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51This is the story of Edward Johnston and Eric Gill
0:01:51 > 0:01:53and their two types of Britain.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Words are all around us, everywhere we turn,
0:02:06 > 0:02:11guiding us, informing us and tempting us.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15But every word surrounding us is in a typeface.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29I'm Mark Ovenden, and you might say I'm a bit of a typeface enthusiast.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31Yes, they really do exist -
0:02:31 > 0:02:32and why not?
0:02:32 > 0:02:37Typefaces are so important and shape the way we see the world,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40something that I've always found fascinating.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49Typefaces nowadays are usually - and wrongly - referred to as fonts.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52A font actually depicts the size and weight of letters.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Whereas the typeface is the important bit - letter design.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01Choosing the right typeface for texts
0:03:01 > 0:03:03is more important than you might think,
0:03:03 > 0:03:07because how lettering looks conveys the emotion of the word.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Imagine how differently we might perceive
0:03:12 > 0:03:15all sorts of important messages and brands
0:03:15 > 0:03:17if they were in the wrong typeface.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28As we rumble around on public transport,
0:03:28 > 0:03:34we're constantly bombarded by messages for products or services -
0:03:34 > 0:03:37but how can we differentiate between the crucial signs
0:03:37 > 0:03:41that tell us where to get off the train or where to go on holiday?
0:03:41 > 0:03:44We may think that we're quite sophisticated
0:03:44 > 0:03:47but, actually, how we spot the difference
0:03:47 > 0:03:52is the result of good design and really clever typography -
0:03:52 > 0:03:53but it wasn't always like that.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57In the early 1900s,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00London and its traffic were growing at an alarming rate.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09To counter this problem, the Underground was expanding,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12with new tunnels deep below the West End...
0:04:14 > 0:04:17..and extended lines reaching further out to the suburbs.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Paid advertising on Tube station walls was nothing new,
0:04:24 > 0:04:26and a useful source of additional income...
0:04:29 > 0:04:32..but it was all becoming a bit chaotic.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Enamel and hand-painted signs and flyposting
0:04:37 > 0:04:41were the equivalent of today's website pop-ups
0:04:41 > 0:04:43or endless advert breaks on the telly -
0:04:43 > 0:04:47and at railway stations, especially those of the Underground,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49these ads littered every available wall.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54The Underground was already in the midst of a redesign.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Architect Leslie Green had created
0:04:58 > 0:05:01an arts and crafts inspired decorative feel
0:05:01 > 0:05:05to many of the new stations in 1906...
0:05:07 > 0:05:11..but this had not solved the signage and advertising confusion.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Much of this work is still visible
0:05:15 > 0:05:18and has also been preserved in pristine condition
0:05:18 > 0:05:21in now unused parts of the Underground.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Well, Mike, it's great to be down in these abandoned tunnels
0:05:24 > 0:05:26underneath Piccadilly Circus.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Can you tell us something about the signage we can still see here?
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Indeed. What you're looking at here is signage that dates
0:05:31 > 0:05:33from the opening of this station in 1906,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36when the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines opened here,
0:05:36 > 0:05:41and, of course, this is one of the traditional ceramic lettered tiling,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44in this slightly serif typeface design by Leslie Green,
0:05:44 > 0:05:46the architect who built these stations -
0:05:46 > 0:05:49but, of course, it's really very contemporary of that period.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52It's a slightly soft arts and crafts typeface.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54These little arrows, particularly,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56are probably the giveaway in some respects.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00A serif is a small flourish at the end of a letter,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02rather like the stroke of a brush.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08The Underground was using this style of serif lettering
0:06:08 > 0:06:10on much of the railway signage...
0:06:11 > 0:06:14..but a typeface which was different at every station
0:06:14 > 0:06:17didn't make the network look unified.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21They were obviously trying a simple,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23similar style of lettering,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25but didn't quite manage, actually,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28to get consistency across their stations.
0:06:28 > 0:06:29I think that was due to the fact
0:06:29 > 0:06:32that several different manufacturers made these ceramic tiles,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34so I think there was a subtle variation -
0:06:34 > 0:06:36but they're simple.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39The way they're laid out and the use of the lettering on them,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42that actually allows a consistency of approach and legibility
0:06:42 > 0:06:45and at the same time subliminally delivering the brand.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Frank Pick was in charge of publicity
0:06:50 > 0:06:52for the London Underground Group at this time.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58After years of signs being made in a variety of serifs and sans serifs
0:06:58 > 0:07:01by the many companies running services,
0:07:01 > 0:07:05he realised that customers could not clearly differentiate
0:07:05 > 0:07:08between the station signage and adverts for other companies,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11as it was all in this chaotic mix of styles.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Frank Pick intended to change this.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Pick began to commission scores of commercial artists,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25what we would now call graphic designers,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28to come up with posters to extol the virtues
0:07:28 > 0:07:31of using the Tube in off-peak times
0:07:31 > 0:07:33to explore London's edges
0:07:33 > 0:07:36or to come into the West End for their shopping.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41But he knew that he wanted the lettering to be really distinctive,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44to stand out from the graphic noise of all the advertising,
0:07:44 > 0:07:50to be straightforward, clear and, in his words, manly.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56A lot of the designs,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58specifically on the advertising posters
0:07:58 > 0:08:00that were commissioned early on,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02were beginning to stand out in this style.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09One from 1908 highlights much of Frank Pick's vision -
0:08:09 > 0:08:11a bright, confident poster
0:08:11 > 0:08:15showcasing all the essential elements of taking the Underground.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20Here you have those red-brick tiles of Leslie Green,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23the Underground logo with the large U and the big D,
0:08:23 > 0:08:24there's even a silhouette of London in there
0:08:24 > 0:08:27and the map and a couple of catchphrases -
0:08:27 > 0:08:30but the problem was all the lettering was different.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34It just didn't look like a unified organisation.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37However, everything was about to change.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Because a lot of the stations were styled by this
0:08:41 > 0:08:43arts-and-crafts-based design,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47much of the typography used at the stations and by advertisers
0:08:47 > 0:08:49of the day were in a serif.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Frank Pick had the idea to radically change the lettering
0:08:55 > 0:08:56to a sans serif,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59which meant removing the decorative kicks from the characters.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04He wanted a typeface that would be instantly associated
0:09:04 > 0:09:07with the Underground, wherever it appeared,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09so every time you saw it you knew where you were.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15Since the sans serif he envisaged did not exist at that time,
0:09:15 > 0:09:19he had no option - he would have to commission one for himself.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27Luckily for Pick, London was buzzing with creativity in the early 1900s,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31and a young man whose passion was the ancient art of calligraphy
0:09:31 > 0:09:33was about to catch his eye.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37His name - Edward Johnston.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40At this time, Johnston was lecturing calligraphy
0:09:40 > 0:09:42at Central School of Art and Design in London.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Catherine, what was Johnston's lecturing style like?
0:09:47 > 0:09:50By all accounts, he was a real showman.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52We have a set of photographs taken by one of his students,
0:09:52 > 0:09:56it just shows his blackboard absolutely packed full
0:09:56 > 0:09:59of kind of letterforms and different styles of letters,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02some really quite flamboyant and exuberant ones.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04So you just kind of get a sense of the richness
0:10:04 > 0:10:07of what it must have been to have been a part of those classes, yeah.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12Edward Johnston was also known in the arts and crafts circuit,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15and it was here where he met Frank Pick,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17who was fascinated by his work.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Given that he was a calligrapher,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24that was quite an odd choice for Frank Pick to choose him, really,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26wasn't it, for this modern sans serif he wanted.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29I do wonder whether or not Pick took a punt on Johnston.
0:10:29 > 0:10:30I mean, he was an odd choice.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34He was embarking on something new, he wasn't an expert,
0:10:34 > 0:10:36he was just opening out a territory,
0:10:36 > 0:10:38and I've always thought that was interesting,
0:10:38 > 0:10:39that he got a job as the head of something
0:10:39 > 0:10:41and he wasn't known for it,
0:10:41 > 0:10:43he wasn't really established when he got that job.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46So I think it was more just maybe a sense of excitement
0:10:46 > 0:10:48and buzz, and maybe Pick just thought,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51"Well, I wonder what he's going to bring to this job."
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Johnston's alphabet design for London Transport
0:10:56 > 0:10:58was an anomaly -
0:10:58 > 0:11:02a complete contradiction to much of his teachings.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Here was a calligrapher who taught his students by chalks,
0:11:06 > 0:11:07quill and ink
0:11:07 > 0:11:10producing this particularly neat style of block letters
0:11:10 > 0:11:12without serifs...
0:11:13 > 0:11:15..but he still managed to encapsulate
0:11:15 > 0:11:19some sneakily-placed calligraphic touches to many of the letters.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24When you have a broad-edge pen and you go to draw a dot of an I,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28and of course it ends up as a diamond shape.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29There's your comma.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32So the punctuation, the tittle, as we call them,
0:11:32 > 0:11:36was really formed from Johnston's background
0:11:36 > 0:11:37as a calligrapher, really.
0:11:37 > 0:11:38Yeah, absolutely.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40His knowledge of a pen and the tool and actually how you
0:11:40 > 0:11:42start to shape letters -
0:11:42 > 0:11:44and it still is what gives Johnston Sans
0:11:44 > 0:11:46a real distinctiveness.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48So the way Johnston was doing it -
0:11:48 > 0:11:51with a couple of chalks glued together -
0:11:51 > 0:11:53is still relevant to type designers today.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Yeah, absolutely - but not just type designers, I mean,
0:11:55 > 0:11:59I'd say anybody that's working with typefaces, and who isn't?
0:11:59 > 0:12:02We're all using fonts on our computers every day.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04It's just the most easy way to demonstrate the relationship
0:12:04 > 0:12:07between tool and letter form.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Students can identify straightaway with it.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12- Also, you can rub it out. - MARK CHUCKLES
0:12:16 > 0:12:18From 1916,
0:12:18 > 0:12:22Edward Johnston's new and very different lettering was adopted
0:12:22 > 0:12:25for publicity material across the London Underground.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30It wasn't the first sans serif invented during this time,
0:12:30 > 0:12:34but it was the first to base its letters on Roman square proportions,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38focusing on the narrow width of the strokes.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40A feeling of progress was in the air,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43a desire to clear up the messes of the past
0:12:43 > 0:12:46and build a brave new world.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Unification of London's transport system was already well on the way.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53In 1916, a man named Frank Pick,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56on behalf of the new Underground Railway Group,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58had commissioned a new sans serif typeface
0:12:58 > 0:13:02from one of Britain's leading typographers, Edward Johnston.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05The result is the clear, bold Johnston lettering
0:13:05 > 0:13:07that graces London's transport system.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09A truly 20th-century achievement.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14The modern concept of intellectual property
0:13:14 > 0:13:15did not exist during this period,
0:13:15 > 0:13:20but the design was fiercely guarded by London transport.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24So much so, printers who had access to the type blocks were forbidden
0:13:24 > 0:13:26to use them on anything else.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30The typeface was a complete success -
0:13:30 > 0:13:33but it wasn't exactly a life-changing experience
0:13:33 > 0:13:34for Edward Johnston.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39After Johnston had delivered his first alphabets to Frank Pick,
0:13:39 > 0:13:40he just carried on working at Central School,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43he didn't really work on any other typefaces, did he?
0:13:43 > 0:13:45I don't think he set out to be a great type designer
0:13:45 > 0:13:48and I don't think he set out to be famous
0:13:48 > 0:13:50or to achieve in that kind of way.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52He was just really happy with his ideas,
0:13:52 > 0:13:54with finding out and studying lettering.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Such was the success of the lettering for the Underground,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Johnston later went on to design a condensed version
0:14:03 > 0:14:07of his typeface for the bus destination boards, as well...
0:14:09 > 0:14:13..but with this new unified brand spreading across London,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Pick needed assurance that no-one would deviate from it.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22What was needed was some kind of easy-to-follow instruction book
0:14:22 > 0:14:23that everybody could copy,
0:14:23 > 0:14:28and that's accepting what London Transport did in 1938
0:14:28 > 0:14:30with the Standard Signs Manual -
0:14:30 > 0:14:34the first time a corporate identity manual had ever been created
0:14:34 > 0:14:36for any transport organisation in the world.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42And here we have all the elements of what should exist on a sign.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Here's the logo at the top.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46Underneath, all the station names,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49even including what colour each of the lines would be in.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Thanks to Frank Pick's vision and Edward Johnston's style,
0:14:55 > 0:14:59transport in London now had its own brand.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03The signage stood out from the rest of the graphic noise
0:15:03 > 0:15:08to form a clear and concise wayfinding system,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10making it a lot easier to get out.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Johnston's creation defined London Transport.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27Everywhere you looked, Johnston was looking back at you.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33So no matter whether your journey was from Ongar to Kilburn,
0:15:33 > 0:15:38you would know that the whole way would be guided by this beautiful,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40aesthetically pleasing Johnston typeface.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47London Transport jealously guarded Johnston's creation in its entirety,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51which meant London was exactly where it would stay.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56Johnston himself left the Big Smoke
0:15:56 > 0:15:59to work out of the small East Sussex village of Ditchling,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02where there is a museum showcasing much of his work.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09I've seen London Transport posters my whole life
0:16:09 > 0:16:11and admired the lettering,
0:16:11 > 0:16:13but this is the first time I've ever held
0:16:13 > 0:16:16some of the lower case wooden letters -
0:16:16 > 0:16:21and it's just fantastic to see the calligraphic influences that are
0:16:21 > 0:16:23brought out by some of these letters.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Just look at that big swish underneath the comma,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29and the tittle, the dot, above the I -
0:16:29 > 0:16:32Johnston's absolutely famous diamond...
0:16:32 > 0:16:35and this double-storey, or eyeglass, G.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37The attention to detail,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40the balance that he managed to eventually work
0:16:40 > 0:16:43into the proportions of that G are just beautiful.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50This different and calligraphy-inspired design
0:16:50 > 0:16:53changed the way London looked forever...
0:16:54 > 0:16:57..but where did Johnston's vision and ideas come from?
0:16:58 > 0:17:02To find out, I've come to meet his grandson, Andrew,
0:17:02 > 0:17:04to examine Edward Johnston's beginnings.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08He had a very strange start in life.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12He was born in 1872 on a ranch in Uruguay.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15It was quite an unconventional sort of childhood.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17His father was quite a strange figure.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21He was from this deeply religious family
0:17:21 > 0:17:23but he corresponded with Darwin,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26he had quite sort of revolutionary ideas
0:17:26 > 0:17:29that children should do what they want.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32The result was Edward was mainly brought up by his aunt,
0:17:32 > 0:17:34who was very sweet but terribly neurotic
0:17:34 > 0:17:37and worried all the time about him catching cold,
0:17:37 > 0:17:39and so kept him basically indoors
0:17:39 > 0:17:42and his father kept him uneducated
0:17:42 > 0:17:45for most of his childhood life, really.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49You would not think that going to a calligrapher,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53sitting at this desk, using a quill pen -
0:17:53 > 0:17:58how is he going to give you one of the world's best-known typefaces?
0:17:58 > 0:18:02A most unlikely figure to then become a modern graphic designer.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- ARCHIVE:- The very way the word is written
0:18:05 > 0:18:07is like the familiar voice of a friend.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10The look of London Transport is its personality.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14The triumphant, unified design that Johnston had transported
0:18:14 > 0:18:18to tubes, trams and buses wasn't just in the typeface.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23Frank Pick later asked him to redesign the Underground logo,
0:18:23 > 0:18:25known as the bull's-eye or roundel.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29After the success of the Underground type,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32I think Pick saw that he could do other work for him.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36One thing that he looked at was the bull's-eye, as it was called -
0:18:36 > 0:18:39the solid red disc with some rather clunky sans serif lettering
0:18:39 > 0:18:41across it on a bar.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Not an easy commission, and Pick was not an easy man to deal with,
0:18:45 > 0:18:49but he did succeed in producing something that Pick liked,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52which was to hollow out the solid disc into a ring,
0:18:52 > 0:18:56place the lettering on a very carefully proportioned bar,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59put ribbons above the lettering and below the lettering,
0:18:59 > 0:19:01with a big U and big D,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05and you've got a balanced logo that still survives to this day,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09really, in modified form, and was a runaway success.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Johnston's designs and masterful teaching methods
0:19:13 > 0:19:16were inspirational to many of his students.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20It was in the classes at Central Saint Martins
0:19:20 > 0:19:23where a young architect turned stonecutter
0:19:23 > 0:19:27named Eric Gill first fell under Johnston's spell.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Eric Gill was well-known in art circles
0:19:36 > 0:19:39for much of his sketches and stone carvings.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43His early works had gained a lot of attention
0:19:43 > 0:19:45for the manner in which they contained
0:19:45 > 0:19:48both religious and sexual connotations.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Gill attended evening classes at Central Saint Martins College
0:19:57 > 0:20:01in London to learn another art form - calligraphy.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07He became transfixed by his lecturer, Edward Johnston,
0:20:07 > 0:20:11and had even assisted him on his commission for the Underground.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19Gill remained inspired by Johnston's success and began experimenting
0:20:19 > 0:20:22to create his own sans serif alphabet.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27A friend asked him to paint a sign for a Bristol book shop.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32This would effectively be the first major exposure of a new style
0:20:32 > 0:20:34that had never been seen outside of London.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Historically, printing words in books and newspapers
0:20:41 > 0:20:43was a skilled craft.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Typesetters assembled texts by hand
0:20:46 > 0:20:50from individual wooden or metal letters,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52but in the late 1800s,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55a mechanical method called casting was invented
0:20:55 > 0:20:59that punched out the tiny letters from strips of metal.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05One of the key companies revolutionising this trade
0:21:05 > 0:21:08was called Monotype, based in Redhill in Surrey.
0:21:09 > 0:21:14To make larger display-sized headlines for posters and adverts,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17they created the super-caster,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20which could automatically compile letters
0:21:20 > 0:21:23into whole sentences from molten metal.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Monotype commissioned type designers
0:21:26 > 0:21:28to make alphabets for their machines,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31then licensed the rights to use them.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35So every time a company used one of their typefaces
0:21:35 > 0:21:39on adverts or signs, Monotype would be paid a fee...
0:21:41 > 0:21:44..but they were on the lookout for something new and exciting
0:21:44 > 0:21:46with a slightly Art Deco feel -
0:21:46 > 0:21:48and they were about to find it.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Gill's new lettering was spotted on the book shop sign
0:21:55 > 0:21:58by a consultant called Stanley Morison,
0:21:58 > 0:22:00who was working for Monotype.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03He was keen to commission something in this style
0:22:03 > 0:22:05that the corporation could license.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08It was the dawn of Gill's new typeface
0:22:08 > 0:22:11that would alter the way Britain looked forever.
0:22:13 > 0:22:14Not bad.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19When working on early designs for London Underground,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Johnston was aided by his student Eric Gill,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26famously handing him 10% of the fee for his assistance.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Gill's experimental design on the Cleverdon book store
0:22:30 > 0:22:33adopted a Johnston-inspired sans serif.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37He worked fast on his new commission,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40and transposed the letters he had prepared for the shop,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42turning them into a fully formed alphabet...
0:22:44 > 0:22:46..but he didn't give Johnston a penny.
0:22:49 > 0:22:50Here it is.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53This delicate piece of brown paper lives here
0:22:53 > 0:22:56in London's St Bride Printing Library,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59hand-inked by Gill himself,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02which shows just how revolutionary,
0:23:02 > 0:23:06radically clean and light his typeface was going to be,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10compared to the old, fussy serifs of the past.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15All Gill and Monotype needed now was a customer,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17a big customer.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22By chance, the London North Eastern Railway,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25who were then the second largest train company in Britain,
0:23:25 > 0:23:27were looking to rebrand.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Cecil Dandridge, the LNER advertising manager,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35had seen how the radical sans serif design
0:23:35 > 0:23:39had brought clarity and authority to the London transport system.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43He quickly ordered the Johnston-inspired lettering
0:23:43 > 0:23:45of Gill Sans from Monotype
0:23:45 > 0:23:48to use across the entire LNER network...
0:23:50 > 0:23:53..including one of their most iconic locomotives...
0:23:55 > 0:23:56..the Mallard.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00By the middle of the 1930s,
0:24:00 > 0:24:06the LNER had used Gill Sans typeface on every conceivable surface,
0:24:06 > 0:24:08and when this magnificent blue beast
0:24:08 > 0:24:12broke the world speed record in 1938,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15pictures of its nameplate in Gill Sans lettering
0:24:15 > 0:24:18went around the world.
0:24:21 > 0:24:22Gill must have been thrilled
0:24:22 > 0:24:26that his typeface now donned the Mallard locomotive.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29As a reward for the success of his work,
0:24:29 > 0:24:33Cecil Dandridge invited Gill aboard one of their other famous trains -
0:24:33 > 0:24:34the Flying Scotsman.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Unlike Johnston, who had inspired his design,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Gill's lettering escaped the confines of London.
0:24:47 > 0:24:48It's thanks to the railways
0:24:48 > 0:24:52that this beautifully balanced sans serif typeface
0:24:52 > 0:24:56got transported to every single corner of Britain -
0:24:56 > 0:24:58from Land's End to John O'Groats.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Well, more accurately, from Penzance to Wick, where the railways ran.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09It wasn't just the station signs that extolled this new design,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12timetables, information posters,
0:25:12 > 0:25:17even the dining car menu were all printed in Gill's radical typeface.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24The LNER effectively popularised Gill Sans in Britain,
0:25:24 > 0:25:26forcing all the printing companies
0:25:26 > 0:25:29who worked for them to buy the typeface in -
0:25:29 > 0:25:33and once they had it, they used it for everything else.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Gill Sans was sleek, modern, streamlined -
0:25:37 > 0:25:41just like the record-breaking Mallard. They were a perfect match.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Other mainline train companies attempted to emulate the success
0:25:45 > 0:25:49of the LNER's brave and smart new look,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52adopting Gill Sans for some of their advertising too.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58This made it the go-to typeface for many printing companies
0:25:58 > 0:26:00across the country.
0:26:04 > 0:26:05Turned out not too bad, really.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10Just look at this. It really shows the clarity of Gill's thinking
0:26:10 > 0:26:12in the design of this typeface.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Look at that perfectly circular letter O -
0:26:15 > 0:26:17and the sloping edge of the T,
0:26:17 > 0:26:20a very distinctive feature of Gill Sans.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23A clearness and clarity of a sans serif like this
0:26:23 > 0:26:26had never really been seen outside of London.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30But how exactly did Gill's new countrywide design differ
0:26:30 > 0:26:32from Johnston's London-based one?
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Gill famously said that he thought that his alphabet
0:26:37 > 0:26:41improved upon his master's, so it's interesting to compare the two.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43This is Johnston's capital R,
0:26:43 > 0:26:46supported by a completely straight leg,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49almost like a piece of furniture holding up the bowl.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51On Gill's R,
0:26:51 > 0:26:55it's propped up by this wonderfully graceful sprung tail,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58inspired by Roman and Trojan lettering.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01I wonder whether maybe Gill has the edge on this letter.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Looking at the Gill Sans alphabet next to the Johnston one,
0:27:08 > 0:27:12the untrained eye could easily mistake them as the same typeface.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14However, they are anything but.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Gill used a lot of symmetry in his letters and numerals,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22like this perfectly balanced 3,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25which could almost be an 8 chopped in half.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31Johnston's capital Es and Fs have a much shorter middle crossbar,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35whereas Gill has them parallel with the top of the letter.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39It was exactly the straightforward clarity Monotype were looking for.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43They were so pleased with Gill's design,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46they ordered alternate weights and improvements to it.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52He went on to create several other typefaces too,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55although they weren't anywhere near as successful as Gill Sans.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03Thanks to Gill's success, Monotype wanted him on a retainer -
0:28:03 > 0:28:05and here's the contract.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08"Gill shall deliver one new typeface,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12"comprising both Roman and italic characters",
0:28:12 > 0:28:15for the princely sum of £200 a year.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19Doesn't sound a lot, but in today's money,
0:28:19 > 0:28:21that would be more like £10,000.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29But by the late 1930s, Britain was at war.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33With the threat of Nazi invasion,
0:28:33 > 0:28:36rationing and austerity were starting to bite.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39In an attempt to boost morale,
0:28:39 > 0:28:42an accessible and straightforward typeface
0:28:42 > 0:28:45was required to use on much of the spirit-lifting propaganda
0:28:45 > 0:28:47and information posters...
0:28:48 > 0:28:51..a type that most of the printing companies
0:28:51 > 0:28:53already had easy access to -
0:28:53 > 0:28:55Gill Sans.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03Edward Johnston and Eric Gill both passed away having witnessed
0:29:03 > 0:29:05their creations dominate the British landscape.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11Gill, who had remained in the public eye for most of his working life,
0:29:11 > 0:29:13died of lung cancer in 1939.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18Johnston, who had largely retired from public view,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21died in his home in Ditchling in 1944...
0:29:24 > 0:29:27..but the fruits of their work were very much still alive,
0:29:27 > 0:29:31turning them both into cult figures in the arts and crafts world.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33However, Johnston and Gill,
0:29:33 > 0:29:37although close friends and clearly inspirational to each other,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40could not have been more different.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43The contrasts are evident when examining some of the sculpture
0:29:43 > 0:29:46and drawings created by Gill throughout his life.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59He was, on the surface,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02a deeply creative and highly respected figure
0:30:02 > 0:30:05in religious and artistic circles.
0:30:07 > 0:30:08But behind closed doors,
0:30:08 > 0:30:11Gill lived a life of sexual obsession
0:30:11 > 0:30:12that mirrored much of his art.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17Gill wasn't a straightforwardly moralistic person.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22I believe he was genuinely religious,
0:30:22 > 0:30:26but his personal life was extremely complex.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30Cultural historian Fiona MacCarthy began researching
0:30:30 > 0:30:35Eric Gill in the 1980s for a biography on his intricate artworks,
0:30:35 > 0:30:38and uncovered details of his morally destructive life.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42A lot of the work is religious in content,
0:30:42 > 0:30:47but then there's this underlying sense of the erotic,
0:30:47 > 0:30:51because Gill was passionately interested in sex,
0:30:51 > 0:30:56and one gets this sort of curious balance in his work.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59He was a very bizarre person,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02a very extreme person -
0:31:02 > 0:31:04but fascinating to study.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10He was working on Prospero and Ariel in the 1930s,
0:31:10 > 0:31:15the great well-known carving outside the BBC building,
0:31:15 > 0:31:19and he was by then really very much in the public eye.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23People were seeing him up there on the scaffold,
0:31:23 > 0:31:25because he was a hand carver.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29Gill couldn't decide whether he wanted to be this humble workman
0:31:29 > 0:31:31or a superstar.
0:31:32 > 0:31:38He was against commerce, but then took lucrative contracts.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42He was profoundly religious, but deeply immoral.
0:31:42 > 0:31:47So he is quite a hard character to get to grips with.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49I think Gill couldn't resist being a celebrity.
0:31:49 > 0:31:54He had this longing for public adulation,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57but he also couldn't resist shocking people.
0:31:57 > 0:32:02He'd make wild statements about politics and sex
0:32:02 > 0:32:05and man's most precious, ornament,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08which was of course his penis.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11He couldn't resist the controversy.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18Fiona gained access to the archive of Gill's personal effects,
0:32:18 > 0:32:20including his diary...
0:32:21 > 0:32:24..and the disturbing self-confessed entries
0:32:24 > 0:32:27she found there were to shock the public
0:32:27 > 0:32:30and tarnish much of his work thereafter.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33I found a lot about the private Gill,
0:32:33 > 0:32:39because he was very uninhabited in what he wrote down in his diaries,
0:32:39 > 0:32:44and I found a whole history of love affairs,
0:32:44 > 0:32:48of incestuous relationships with his sisters,
0:32:48 > 0:32:52incestuous relationships with his children,
0:32:52 > 0:32:56sexual experiments with the family dog, even,
0:32:56 > 0:32:59because Gill was very, very obsessed with sex,
0:32:59 > 0:33:02and the functioning of the body,
0:33:02 > 0:33:06and these experiments were all noted down
0:33:06 > 0:33:11in this extraordinary, meticulous way in his diaries.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15He was, as one of his friends once said, mad about sex.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18He could never resist the opportunity.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24Even though the diaries were written 50 years prior,
0:33:24 > 0:33:27the criminal and amoral details listed throughout
0:33:27 > 0:33:31have led many to believe you cannot separate Gill's art
0:33:31 > 0:33:32from his depravities,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35and that knowledge of his terrible misdeeds
0:33:35 > 0:33:38undermines the aesthetic value of his work.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42I knew when I unearthed this material
0:33:42 > 0:33:47that if I wrote the biography that I felt I needed to write,
0:33:47 > 0:33:51bringing out all these aberrations of behaviour,
0:33:51 > 0:33:53his sexual behaviour,
0:33:53 > 0:33:59I was going to upset deeply a lot of the people who revered Gill most.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04The revelations of Gill's private life led to many critics
0:34:04 > 0:34:07calling for his work to be removed from public view.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12It was, they argued,
0:34:12 > 0:34:14impossible to appreciate his art
0:34:14 > 0:34:18knowing it was produced by the same hands that abused his children.
0:34:21 > 0:34:26Art creations such as the 1923 print titled Girl In The Bath
0:34:26 > 0:34:28were viewed in a very different light
0:34:28 > 0:34:30when learning that it was in fact modelled
0:34:30 > 0:34:32on his 13-year-old daughter.
0:34:35 > 0:34:41We're now more and more aware of the problems of child abuse,
0:34:41 > 0:34:46the terrible problems that affect so many people in such desperate ways.
0:34:46 > 0:34:51There is a resistance to looking at Gill's art with any seriousness
0:34:51 > 0:34:56once you know the details of his personal life,
0:34:56 > 0:35:00particularly the incest with his children,
0:35:00 > 0:35:04and I understand where these people are coming from,
0:35:04 > 0:35:09but I certainly don't think that one can write off the wonderful work
0:35:09 > 0:35:11that he did because of the things
0:35:11 > 0:35:16that one has to disapprove of in Gill's personal life.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23Despite campaigners wanting Gill's sculptures removed,
0:35:23 > 0:35:27his typeface has not been spurned in quite the same way -
0:35:27 > 0:35:30possibly because it's a less emotive or suggestive art form.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38It remains ubiquitous on modern word processing software,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41and is still used by brands and businesses the world over.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45It is instead the flaws within the design of the lettering
0:35:45 > 0:35:49that's been the subject of modern scrutiny and criticism,
0:35:49 > 0:35:53arguing that the sizing and shape of the typeface is not user friendly.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55I've come to meet senior lecturer Ben Archer
0:35:55 > 0:35:57at the Leicester Print Workshop,
0:35:57 > 0:36:01who finds Gill's work slightly, well, mismatched.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05Ben, Gill described his work as foolproof.
0:36:05 > 0:36:06What's your take on it?
0:36:06 > 0:36:09Not quite foolproof.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12It's a less than ideal typeface made by an idealist.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16Johnston, as a calligrapher, was used to working two-dimensionally,
0:36:16 > 0:36:17on the flat.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21Gill's got a more organic feel about the whole thing.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24His curves are very sensuous.
0:36:24 > 0:36:29That, I guess, is about him being a letter carver and a sculptor,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32working with his hands, moulding shapes, I think.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37But when examining similar-shaped letters in Gill's alphabet,
0:36:37 > 0:36:41it highlights what some see as weaker elements to the design.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46Here we have a lower case L,
0:36:46 > 0:36:48a numeral 1 and an upper case I.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50They're just all identical, aren't they?
0:36:50 > 0:36:52It must have been very confusing.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54The three Is, as we're now calling them.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57So, you could have something that looks like it's "ill",
0:36:57 > 0:37:00or it's a Roman three, you're not really to know.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04Although greatly inspired by Johnston,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08Gill did a lot of simplifying and refining to his letters.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13Johnston's numeral 1, here, with its shaved, sloping top,
0:37:13 > 0:37:17is a lot more distinguishable from the flat top version of Gill's 1,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20or upper-case letter I and lower-case L.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23To critics like Ben,
0:37:23 > 0:37:26many of the issues he has with Gill's alphabet
0:37:26 > 0:37:29stem from how difficult they are to distinguish between each other.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35Take these lower case letters of P, Q, D and B.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39When thrown together in a box of type...
0:37:41 > 0:37:44..they are quite easy to mix up when they look pretty much the same
0:37:44 > 0:37:46upside down and back to front.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51For a typeface, to a nation of shopkeepers,
0:37:51 > 0:37:54it's quite a serious problem.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58For all that we know that one was
0:37:58 > 0:38:00taking the other as the inspiration, you know,
0:38:00 > 0:38:02they are very different things -
0:38:02 > 0:38:07and, of course, their histories lead in entirely different directions.
0:38:07 > 0:38:12Gill Sans became this utilitarian, quotidian sort of super face -
0:38:12 > 0:38:13The Helvetica of England -
0:38:13 > 0:38:17and Johnston was literally locked up and left underground
0:38:17 > 0:38:19for nearly a century,
0:38:19 > 0:38:23you know, protected and not freely available.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26Even after their deaths,
0:38:26 > 0:38:31Johnston and Gill's creations were still subtly encapsulating Britain.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36By the middle of the 20th-century, it was hard to miss
0:38:36 > 0:38:39either Johnston or Gill's typefaces.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42Johnston was entirely synonymous with London,
0:38:42 > 0:38:44from the tickets to the signage,
0:38:44 > 0:38:46the train liveries to the bus stops -
0:38:46 > 0:38:49but as the country approached the late '50s,
0:38:49 > 0:38:52the first cracks began to surface.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54Johnston's typeface, in particular, had a flaw.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00As London Transport demanded more from the text on their publicity,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03it forced printers and designers to push the boundaries.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09The Johnston typeface, designed for wood in the age of steam,
0:39:09 > 0:39:14was becoming unfit for purpose in the white heat of technology.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19London Transport needed it available in a much greater range of sizes.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22Because it was so inflexible,
0:39:22 > 0:39:25London Transport began using other typefaces
0:39:25 > 0:39:27for much of its printed material.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30For the first time in 30 years, timetables,
0:39:30 > 0:39:34adverts and posters were not set in Johnston.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40Printing technology was advancing rapidly,
0:39:40 > 0:39:43and the old stalwarts of wartime and austerity
0:39:43 > 0:39:46were beginning to look a bit jaded -
0:39:46 > 0:39:48and, even worse, for Gill Sans,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52it was becoming a victim of its own success.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55Designers of the day were looking for something fresh.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02Gill Sans and Johnston were being shunned by the country.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05Now replaced by more modern and chic designs.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10Typefaces like Helvetica became far more popular.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15Its letters were easier for printers to resize and for Britain,
0:40:15 > 0:40:16entering its summer of love,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19it didn't have the connotations of wartime.
0:40:23 > 0:40:28Johnston and Gill Sans were now becoming just a little bit uncool.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31Associated with officialdom, bossing people around,
0:40:31 > 0:40:33telling them where to go -
0:40:33 > 0:40:35but they weren't entirely dead.
0:40:35 > 0:40:40One London-born designer was about to create an album cover for the
0:40:40 > 0:40:42biggest pop group in the world -
0:40:42 > 0:40:46and he was kind of inspired these big, red beauties.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56OK, so the front cover of Abbey Road had no typography at all,
0:40:56 > 0:41:00but the back featured the road name in ceramic letters,
0:41:00 > 0:41:04and the track listing was deliberately chosen by the designer
0:41:04 > 0:41:06John Kosh to be Gill Sans.
0:41:06 > 0:41:07I'm a Londoner.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11I guess I was influenced without knowing it by Johnston,
0:41:11 > 0:41:13because it's all around me, surrounding me,
0:41:13 > 0:41:15on buses that would go by, on the Tube trains.
0:41:17 > 0:41:18Barred from using Johnston,
0:41:18 > 0:41:22which was exclusively owned and protected by London transport,
0:41:22 > 0:41:24Kosh turned to Gill Sans.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27As a display face I thought it was perfect, free of use,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30but I guess I didn't realise that until I got to art school
0:41:30 > 0:41:34and we just started experimenting, and my favourite font was Gill.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37I didn't realise that it had fallen out of fashion, to be honest,
0:41:37 > 0:41:40I just thought it was a great, legible typeface.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47John Kosh worked for Apple Records in the 1960s,
0:41:47 > 0:41:50where he was responsible for design and publicity.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58He was renowned for not letting the modern typeface trends of the day
0:41:58 > 0:42:00dominate his work.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05To be honest, I just started playing with...
0:42:05 > 0:42:10Helvetica, in my early days in design, seemed to be too bland -
0:42:10 > 0:42:13but Gill somehow just was a great display face.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15Large, you can make it very stark -
0:42:15 > 0:42:18but for text, with those ascenders and descenders,
0:42:18 > 0:42:21you could just really read it without eyestrain.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23And on Abbey Road,
0:42:23 > 0:42:25it wasn't just the choice of an outdated typeface that
0:42:25 > 0:42:27gave it an unusual look.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33My claim to fame with Abbey Road was the fact that I did not display type
0:42:33 > 0:42:36of The Beatles on the cover, or Abbey Road,
0:42:36 > 0:42:39which caused a lot of consternation at the record company at the time -
0:42:39 > 0:42:42but, if you notice that the lyrics and all the typography,
0:42:42 > 0:42:44they're all in Gill because it's very legible,
0:42:44 > 0:42:49and when we got round to Let It Be, Let It Be was just all Gill.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Right from the start. The Beatles didn't know I was using Gill Sans,
0:42:52 > 0:42:54or probably even really care.
0:42:54 > 0:42:55They didn't notice,
0:42:55 > 0:42:57they were totally oblivious to what fonts I was using
0:42:57 > 0:43:01and I just was, you know, my homage, I think, to my background -
0:43:01 > 0:43:04and the Beatles, you know. Who came from Liverpool!
0:43:10 > 0:43:13The Electric Light Orchestra...
0:43:13 > 0:43:14Aerosmith...
0:43:14 > 0:43:16the Eagles...
0:43:16 > 0:43:18all Kosh designs,
0:43:18 > 0:43:20all draped in Gill Sans,
0:43:20 > 0:43:26a typeface that was dying out in the '50s and '60s was now back.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28America seemed to be stuck on Futura, you know,
0:43:28 > 0:43:32Rod Stewart's coming over and ELO's coming over and a lot of my clients
0:43:32 > 0:43:33are coming over. Ringo.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36And I just wanted to make them feel at home somehow.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38They might not have known why, but this...
0:43:38 > 0:43:42These are the fonts that they've grown up with or seen around them.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45When I see Gill Sans in other people's work and in my work,
0:43:45 > 0:43:47I just feel that there is a little thrill there
0:43:47 > 0:43:50that they've chosen the right font, the right face.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54So it goes without saying that it has spread round the world.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00Gill Sans was slowly creeping back into British designs,
0:44:00 > 0:44:03now digitised by photo typesetting technology.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10By the 1980s, it was being used by many designers of the day.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17It was, of course, a decade where style was everything.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20The '80s was an interesting period.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23It was an amazing period to be in the middle
0:44:23 > 0:44:28of this huge explosion of new music, new fashion, new art, new design.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30And some of it was technologically driven -
0:44:30 > 0:44:32there was stuff we could do in the '80s
0:44:32 > 0:44:35that you just couldn't do in the '70s or the '60s.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44In the '80s, it became easier
0:44:44 > 0:44:46to change the size of type and graphics,
0:44:46 > 0:44:49thanks to the benefits of computer-aided design.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55Neville Brody spent much of the 1980s as the graphic designer
0:44:55 > 0:44:58for many of the cult magazines of the day,
0:44:58 > 0:45:00such as The Face and City Limits.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05Both of these adopted the clean elements of Gill Sans,
0:45:05 > 0:45:08but with a contemporary twist.
0:45:08 > 0:45:12We were able now to experiment with this on a regular level.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16We didn't need to be kind of highly-trained type designers,
0:45:16 > 0:45:20we could instruct something to be 10% width, for instance.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24We brought this in The Face magazine -
0:45:24 > 0:45:26particularly with City Limits,
0:45:26 > 0:45:28it was Gill we were experimenting with.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32We felt we could just be exuberant and joyful
0:45:32 > 0:45:35and there was absolutely nothing to lose.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38I think Gill Sans became again representative
0:45:38 > 0:45:41of that kind of utopian idealism,
0:45:41 > 0:45:46almost an optimistic belief in what culture could bring
0:45:46 > 0:45:47and society could bring.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51MUSIC: TRUE FAITH by New Order
0:45:54 > 0:45:57It bought that romantic hope for the future
0:45:57 > 0:46:00that was so absent in the rest of society.
0:46:02 > 0:46:03This is a really good example
0:46:03 > 0:46:06of your punching out your headline in Gill.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08The idea, really, was how many variations
0:46:08 > 0:46:10could you get out of the same typeface
0:46:10 > 0:46:12without having to jump fonts?
0:46:12 > 0:46:14So you were wanting to stick with just the one typeface,
0:46:14 > 0:46:17but use it in as many different ways as possible.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21Absolutely. So here you have it kind of bold, wide spaced.
0:46:21 > 0:46:22Here you have it bold condensed.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26Upper, lower case here, you have it bold condensed, but wide spaced.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28So we're using it for so many different levels
0:46:28 > 0:46:30of articulation and information.
0:46:31 > 0:46:36Neville's typeface inspiration started from quite a young age.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41I came across this, a book from my childhood.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43It's an encyclopaedia -
0:46:43 > 0:46:45and then realised that this was all Gill,
0:46:45 > 0:46:50and it's Gill at a kind of super-sized setting here.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52You wouldn't normally do this.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55So what they've done is they've recognised in Gill
0:46:55 > 0:46:58the ability to punch out and articulate content,
0:46:58 > 0:47:01and I think that must have sat somewhere in the back of my mind.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06A typeface that once had
0:47:06 > 0:47:09unfashionable and authoritarian undertones
0:47:09 > 0:47:11was now being used against the establishment.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24It was even at the typeface of choice
0:47:24 > 0:47:26on many of the anti-poll tax leaflets.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31It's interesting, isn't it, that Gill's used quite a lot
0:47:31 > 0:47:34by generally left-wing or campaigning groups,
0:47:34 > 0:47:36but you don't see a lot of it used by anybody else.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40No, the hard right tend to avoid it completely for some strange reason.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42Maybe because it has slightly softer
0:47:42 > 0:47:44or slightly more romantic connotations.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49Whilst Gill Sans was invading the country again,
0:47:49 > 0:47:52Johnston was being virtually annihilated in London.
0:47:57 > 0:48:01London transport were using more contemporary-looking typefaces.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05Johnston's range of sizes was limited,
0:48:05 > 0:48:08and not digitised for photo typesetting,
0:48:08 > 0:48:11making it impossible to use on a computer.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16What was once the go-to choice for a clear and concise design
0:48:16 > 0:48:20was now being substituted by other types -
0:48:20 > 0:48:22including Gill Sans.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28Fearful for Johnston's future,
0:48:28 > 0:48:31London transport turned to design agencies
0:48:31 > 0:48:34to try and save it from a cruel death.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38It was a job that was entrusted to a young graphic designer
0:48:38 > 0:48:39called Eiichi Kono,
0:48:39 > 0:48:43who needed a plan to digitise it for a computerised industry.
0:48:45 > 0:48:51Johnston was originally designed by Edward Johnston
0:48:51 > 0:48:55for just display purpose, station names,
0:48:55 > 0:49:00but London transport couldn't use for many different purposes.
0:49:00 > 0:49:07When it's small in size, then it's not legible enough.
0:49:07 > 0:49:09Readable enough.
0:49:11 > 0:49:16Eiichi began painstakingly redesigning the typeface by hand.
0:49:17 > 0:49:21Every day, I was drawing and then scratching it
0:49:21 > 0:49:25with a scalpel and attaching it.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28This process took Eiichi around 18 months to complete.
0:49:29 > 0:49:34For the first time ever, Johnston was digitised for use on a computer.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38A typeface that was originally only available in a couple of weights
0:49:38 > 0:49:40now came in many more.
0:49:42 > 0:49:46So, altogether I made eight different variations.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48Light, medium, bold.
0:49:48 > 0:49:55Then when the typeface is reduced, in a 6-point or 4-point,
0:49:55 > 0:49:59in a small size, it works much better -
0:49:59 > 0:50:04and after the digitisation was done,
0:50:04 > 0:50:06Johnston survived again.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10New Johnston was born.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16It meant London Transport could continue to use it on Tubes,
0:50:16 > 0:50:18buses and signs.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22Also, Mayor of London started using it as official typeface,
0:50:22 > 0:50:27so I'm very pleased and proud of it, and I feel lucky.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33Still I feel, Johnston and Gill Sans
0:50:33 > 0:50:38both are absolutely fantastic
0:50:38 > 0:50:40humanist sans-serif,
0:50:40 > 0:50:44and many other similar ones already come out,
0:50:44 > 0:50:50that not really kind of, you know, surpass their popularity.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56As new Johnston returned to the safety of its home,
0:50:56 > 0:51:00at the same time, Gill Sans was being re-popularised as well.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04In fact, Gill was about to be the trusted typeface of choice
0:51:04 > 0:51:06for Britain's newest channel.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22Good afternoon. It's a pleasure to be able to say to you,
0:51:22 > 0:51:24welcome to Channel 4.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32The look of Channel 4 was created by designer Martin Lambie-Nairn.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35All of the channel's on-screen text
0:51:35 > 0:51:38and many of their printed adverts were all in Gill Sans.
0:51:41 > 0:51:43An ironic choice, given that the logo
0:51:43 > 0:51:46was very much of a serif design -
0:51:46 > 0:51:48and yet they worked so well together...
0:51:50 > 0:51:52..and it appeared a contagious choice.
0:51:52 > 0:51:57Much of the television media also started switching to Gill Sans.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59It was concise and easy to read.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05In 1997, the BBC followed suit.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07They wanted a logo and a typeface style
0:52:07 > 0:52:11that would unify the entire corporation.
0:52:11 > 0:52:12Sound familiar?
0:52:15 > 0:52:18At this time, the BBC had a different logo
0:52:18 > 0:52:21for almost every TV and radio channel.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26A real mishmash of different designs.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29Something needed to be done.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34So, they turned to the same man who helped stylise Channel 4.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38The BBC logo had got out of control.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40Just about anybody who had a budget in the BBC
0:52:40 > 0:52:42would commission a new logo.
0:52:42 > 0:52:48The main logo itself was made up of the four-colour printing process.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51And so, it didn't work in black-and-white.
0:52:51 > 0:52:52So, not only did we have that problem,
0:52:52 > 0:52:58we had 180 different logo types that the BBC was sort of using,
0:52:58 > 0:53:03so the entire identity of the BBC was being fragmented,
0:53:03 > 0:53:05rather than strengthened.
0:53:08 > 0:53:12The old, tired BBC logo, set in an italic typeface,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15was becoming slightly hard to read at an angle.
0:53:21 > 0:53:26Martin Lambie-Nairn and his team were tasked with redesigning it,
0:53:26 > 0:53:27moving from a slant...
0:53:29 > 0:53:31..to a square.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34Quite frankly, the old logo just simply didn't work on television,
0:53:34 > 0:53:38because it was...it was sloping,
0:53:38 > 0:53:41and the engineering of television is that!
0:53:41 > 0:53:43So, it broke up.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45So, we needed to create a logo type
0:53:45 > 0:53:50that was going to be technically better and simpler,
0:53:50 > 0:53:51and I looked at Gill
0:53:51 > 0:53:54because of the association that Gill had with the BBC,
0:53:54 > 0:53:58and, of course, all the sculptures around the building are his.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03I think the typeface brought a kind of simplicity to the channel.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06We were always aiming to keep things simple and clear...
0:54:07 > 0:54:10..and it is a very unfussy typeface,
0:54:10 > 0:54:12so it probably did emphasise that clarity.
0:54:19 > 0:54:24But this evolution of design continues today.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26Soon, there will be a new type on the block.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32After 20 years, the process is happening all over again.
0:54:33 > 0:54:38The BBC plan to phase out Gill Sans and replace it with a new,
0:54:38 > 0:54:43in-house typeface - one that has used Gill as an inspiration.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46So, for me, it begs just one question -
0:54:46 > 0:54:49why do they want to change it?
0:54:51 > 0:54:54Gill Sans was designed in the 1920s for the printed page.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57Online, it sort of falls down somewhat.
0:54:57 > 0:54:59It's not digitally optimised,
0:54:59 > 0:55:01it doesn't have great legibility
0:55:01 > 0:55:04when you look at long-form journalism, for instance.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07So, we needed to improve that area.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10We currently license a number of fonts - we'd reduce that spend,
0:55:10 > 0:55:12we would own a typeface of our own.
0:55:14 > 0:55:15For the past two years,
0:55:15 > 0:55:19David and his team have been working on a new style of BBC lettering,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22a typeface designed for the digital age.
0:55:25 > 0:55:27- So, shall we take a look at it? - I'm very excited.
0:55:27 > 0:55:31It's still work in progress, but I'm desperate to show you.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35This is the new typographic look of the BBC.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37You're getting a first glimpse at it now.
0:55:37 > 0:55:39It's still in production, but it's very exciting.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41That is absolutely beautiful, isn't it?
0:55:42 > 0:55:45It's so lovely to see these echoes of Gill Sans
0:55:45 > 0:55:48as well, on the S, for example.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52This Q and the B, without that little corner on them.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56One of the things that our typographers talk about
0:55:56 > 0:55:59is the sort of Spartan elegance of Gill Sans.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01We've removed the spurs from these,
0:56:01 > 0:56:03which give it a real sort of friendly character.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07When you put the B opposite the P, they're not identical.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10There's definite echoes of where we've come from,
0:56:10 > 0:56:11from the heritage of Gill.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15On closer inspection of the new BBC design,
0:56:15 > 0:56:17there are several obvious changes
0:56:17 > 0:56:20that jump out when comparing it against Gill Sans.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24Gone are the perfectly circular Os
0:56:24 > 0:56:28and Roman-style, quirky flourishes on the Ts and Gs...
0:56:30 > 0:56:34..now replaced with lettering that uses far greater spacing on screen.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39And no-one's worried about the fact that it actually takes up more real
0:56:39 > 0:56:41- estate on-screen?- Yeah - but to tick all those legibility boxes,
0:56:41 > 0:56:43you have to make it breathe a bit wider...
0:56:43 > 0:56:47- Right.- For it to work in, say, a wearable, or on tiny screens,
0:56:47 > 0:56:49or whatever the future might hold.
0:56:49 > 0:56:53The spacing's wider, it's bringing a better legibility,
0:56:53 > 0:56:54giving it a little more breathing space.
0:56:56 > 0:56:57It must feel quite exciting
0:56:57 > 0:57:00to be looking at all these wonderful new typeface ranges.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02It's incredibly exciting.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07It is so interesting to see this new BBC typeface in the flesh...
0:57:09 > 0:57:12..but I can't help but wonder whether we've slightly lost
0:57:12 > 0:57:16some of the panache that Gill Sans brought to it.
0:57:16 > 0:57:18Who knows? Maybe it'll be back in the future.
0:57:18 > 0:57:23After all, Gill Sans is the comeback king of all typefaces.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32For self-confessed design geeks like me,
0:57:32 > 0:57:37it is truly inspirational that these two classic British typefaces
0:57:37 > 0:57:39are still influential,
0:57:39 > 0:57:44still evolving and still appropriate for modern times.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52Whether it's the past glories of the Underground,
0:57:52 > 0:57:57cult album covers or brand-new designs,
0:57:57 > 0:58:00these two timeless British types
0:58:00 > 0:58:03are as important and relevant now
0:58:03 > 0:58:06as they were a century ago.
0:58:06 > 0:58:12Johnston and Gill Sans convey that sense of trust and tradition,
0:58:12 > 0:58:15quintessential British values,
0:58:15 > 0:58:20that no matter how turbulent the times, you'll get home - safely.
0:58:20 > 0:58:22Just follow the signs.
0:58:24 > 0:58:28MUSIC: Silk by Wolf Alice