What is the font used on the now famous “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters issued by HMG in WW2?
The [=C&ch[1]=C&ch[2]=K&ch[3]=A&ch[4]=O&ch[5]=A&ch[6]=&ch[7]=E&ch[8]=&ch[9]=R&ch[10]=&ch[11]=&ch[12]=E&ch[13]=L&ch[14]=N&ch[15]=&ch[16]=R&ch[17]=M&ch[18]=P&ch[19]=Y&wtfserver=node5.ric.mf&id=000099e84c754eb50008cae700000b9a&glyphcount=20&imageid=0"]“What The Font” identifier site produced no good results](WhatTheFont | MyFonts’ AI-Powered Font Finder[0), but another thread on a typography site I checked said that one discussion thought it was originally hand-lettered, back in the day. Though the modern font P22 Underground comes close.
And to most laymen, Gill Sans will be close enough.
For those wondering what this ‘famous’ poster is, here is a link to it. (Red version; it came in several colors.)
A better choice might be the FREE K-Type “Keep Calm and Carry On” typeface, available at http://www.k-type.com/?p=2156
The original was hand-drawn.
P22 Underground has a similar look, but is used on London Underground signage.
And Gill Sans is a kinda rip-off of Johnson’s Underground font (something Eric Gill admitted) It was designed because London Underground held the licence for Johnson Underground and wouldn’t allow others to use it. The poster, although probably hand-drawn, has very similar characteristics to Gill and Johnson Underground and one of them was probably a reference point for the designer of the poster.
Good link Mickeys, I should’ve known some canny designer would design a font of the poster.
Actually, looking more closely at the letter ‘R’, Gill Sans is more likely to be the designer’s influence than the Underground font. Gill Sans was a hugely popular font at the time and has become part of British design culture as representative of the graphic style of the 30s/40s. It is used frequently by designers who want to evoke a nostalgic Britishness, see for example Terence Conran’s Albion Cafe, and the Peyton and Burne brand of teas/coffee/cakes.
I seem to remember the book Just My Type discussing this poster, but I can’t find my copy right now.