---
title: "Gill Sans (1928) — Eric Gill"
description: "Gill Sans was designed by Eric Gill in 1928. What it signals, where you have seen it, and how to tell it from Johnston."
url: https://atoneplace.net/font/gill-sans/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Gill Sans

**Gill Sans: Eric Gill, 1928**

Sans-serif · Britain, mid-century. Railways, the BBC, Penguin paperbacks.

Often called the Helvetica of England, though it is a humanist sans rather than a neo-grotesque and reads quite differently. It was based on Johnston, Gill having worked with Edward Johnston on the Underground alphabet. Gill's posthumously published diaries revealed serious abuse, which is a live problem for institutions still using the typeface and one several have addressed by changing it.

## How to tell it apart

| Mistaken for | Which letters to check |
| --- | --- |
| Johnston | Round tittles on Gill Sans, diamond ones on Johnston. |

## The facts

- **Designed by:** Eric Gill
- **Released:** 1928
- **Classification:** Sans-serif
- **What it signals now:** Britain, mid-century. Railways, the BBC, Penguin paperbacks.

## Where you have seen it

- Penguin Books covers
- The BBC's identity for decades
- British Railways signage

## Other typefaces from the 1920s

| Typeface | Year | Designer | What it signals |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cooper Black | 1922 | Oswald Bruce Cooper | The 1970s, unmistakably. Soft, heavy, friendly, slightly stoned. |
| Futura | 1927 | Paul Renner | Bauhaus modernism, and then anything wanting to look confident and geometric. |

> This page describes the typeface rather than showing it. Displaying a specimen requires a licensed font file and almost none of these may be redistributed, so the descriptions name the letters to look at instead.

## Common questions

### Who designed Gill Sans?

Eric Gill, in 1928.

### What is Gill Sans used for?

Britain, mid-century. Railways, the BBC, Penguin paperbacks. You will have seen it on Penguin Books covers, The BBC's identity for decades, British Railways signage.

### What is the difference between Gill Sans and Johnston?

Round tittles on Gill Sans, diamond ones on Johnston.

## Related pages

- [Johnston](https://atoneplace.net/font/johnston/)
- [Typefaces from the 1920s](https://atoneplace.net/font/decade/1920s/)
- [Akzidenz-Grotesk](https://atoneplace.net/font/akzidenz-grotesk/)
- [Franklin Gothic](https://atoneplace.net/font/franklin-gothic/)
- [Johnston](https://atoneplace.net/font/johnston/)
- [Futura](https://atoneplace.net/font/futura/)
- [Helvetica](https://atoneplace.net/font/helvetica/)
- [Univers](https://atoneplace.net/font/univers/)
- [Optima](https://atoneplace.net/font/optima/)
- [Eurostile](https://atoneplace.net/font/eurostile/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)