Many early sans serif types were known by the misnomer "grotesque" in Britain, and "grotesk" in Germany. In America they came to be described as "gothic." Influenced by the "grotesks" designed in Germany, Morris Fuller Benton designed the Franklin Gothic typeface family between 1903 and 1912. Based on Fuller's original design, the Franklin Gothic typeface was redrawn by ITC in 1980. In 1991, the ITC Franklin Gothic™ family was expanded to include condensed and compressed weights. Elements that made Fuller's Franklin Gothic a design, such as subtle variances in stroke contrasts and slightly enlarged x-heights, were kept intact in the new ITC version. Along with the standard book, medium, demi and heavy weights and their corresponding italics, ITC Franklin Gothic includes a suite of condensed and compressed weights. ITC Franklin Gothic Condensed and ITC Franklin Gothic Compressed each provide eight weights of narrower proportions.
Best used as a display face, ITC Franklin Gothic is considered a standard in the newspaper and advertising fields. With its conservative design traits and economy of space, ITC Franklin Gothic is a typeface that has, and will continue to stand the test of time. Now that’s a super family.