British Television Icon Rebrands With Fontsmith

New “BBC One” font replaces stalwart Gill Sans

The new-look typographc style for BBC One Television, divised by Fontsmith

Gill Sans, developed by Eric Gill, inspired by Johnston’s Underground, is a quintessentially British font–so much so, in fact, that it has did yeoman’s duty in graphics for the BBC for decades. But on 7 October 2006, the reign of Gill has come to an end at the BBC, in favor of a custom (or, as they say there ‘bespoke’) typeface developed for the BBC by Jason Smith’s Fontsmith typefoundry.

For the past several years, the BBC mark has been similar for the four main channels (BBC One through BBC Four), with title cards showing the modern ‘three-block’ BBC logo and the words ONE, TWO, THREE, or FOUR in Gill Sans majuscules, emblazoned on a signature color for each service (BBC One’s is red, for example).

The font was developed with an eye toward bringing the conservative and modern together, to create a look that was accessable to all without alienating BBC One’s audience, which is seen as just about anyone who owns a television. Typeface design is said to be informed by the concept of the word ‘one’ in minuscule, with the roundness of the ‘o’ connoting the greater community of BBC’s nation- and world-wide audience.

Apt font design for media has become Fontsmith’s stock in trade, with a client list for bespoke desgins including Britain’s ITV and Channel 4 Television. Appropriate fonts become brands in and of themselves, according to Fontsmith’s Smith, who was quoted in Fontsmith’s press release thus:

Read Fontsmith’s complete press release here.

View a sample of Fontsmith’s BBC One font here.

(Via Microsoft Typography)