The Benton Sans® typeface from The Font Bureau, Inc. has a history of design and development that spans an entire century. Developed as a re-imagining of Morris Fuller Benton’s 1908 classic, the News Gothic™ typeface family, Benton Sans retains much of the workhorse flexibility of its predecessor, while introducing new features and refinements unavailable in the original design. With a wide range of weights and styles, Benton Sans has gained popularity in publishing and many other forms of print media.
Benton developed the first weights of News Gothic for American Type Founders in the early years of the last century. As the design gained popularity, new weights and proportions were added to the family over the next several decades.
In 1995, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia commissioned Tobias Frere Jones to interpret News Gothic for the company’s publications. Working closely from Benton’s original drawings, stored in the Smithsonian Institute, Frere-Jones was able to modernize the classic typeface, adding additional features, while maintaining the straightforward, flexible ethos of the original.
In the early 2000s, Font Bureau had Cyrus Highsmith further expand the typeface family for retail use. Benton Sans now incorporates 128 styles in eight weights and four widths and including for all of the weights. Benton Sans’ legibility and ability to work for anything from a byline to extended text copy have cemented the design’s standing as a go-to typeface for the publishing industry.
Benton Sans
Weights of Benton SansBenton Sans has become popular among newspaper and magazine publications because of its uncomplicated, straightforward structure. Because of its ability to function as both body copy and in larger display sets, Fortune magazine implemented it into its 2007 redesign. Benton Sans can also be seen in the Houston Chronicle and many other publications. Global design firm, frog design, uses Benton Sans in all its published materials. Additionally, the New York Art Directors Club has used the typeface family for many of its branding and promotional materials.