Font Question Re: 1980's TOS Novels

[DEWLine]

A question I raised over at MyFonts' WhatTheFont forum...

https://www.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/forum/case/1512816/

Since that same design has been used as a Canadian Tire wordmark typeface for decades beforehand, I am wondering how this design choice happened at Pocket Books in the first place, and if that typeface is still available for purchase.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I actually thought it *was* Futura Display, sorry. The titles themselves seem to be in the standard weight for Futura Display. It seems possible that they might have just created or commissioned their own thinner-weight version to use for the authors' names?

You've probably already seen this in your searching, but Pixel Sagas created an homage font called "Fontana" based on the 80s ST book titles. The regular weight of that font does a reasonable job of mimicking the thinner version used for the author names, depending on what you want to use it for.

 

[DEWLine]

I'm figuring that, since it's been around since at least 1969 as part of the Canadian Tire logos and wordmarks, it was part of the Futura Display family.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I am wondering how this design choice happened at Pocket Books in the first place

That part seems obvious enough: it bears a more than passing resemblance to the font used for TOS second and third season episode title cards.

I'm a typography geek myself, and I've never heard of "Futura Display." At any rate, it looks so little like Futura that I find the name quite surprising.

 

[Avro Arrow]

At any rate, it looks so little like Futura that I find the name quite surprising.

Futura Black doesn’t look anything like Futura either, so...

 

[DEWLine]

And yet the designer(s) insisted that both were part of the larger family of typefaces for some reasons...

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I can definitely see the family resemblance between Futura Black and, say, Futura Book. Not so with Futura Display.

I think I'll stick with Garamond. Or maybe Caslon, Goudy, or Baskerville. Maybe with University or Cooper for display lines, where they enhance the meaning. Ludlow Tempo is rather nice (and is one of the few sans-serif families with true italics, rather than obliques). And contrary to the opinions of some, Comic Sans has its uses (mainly for callouts on screen shots, or as a stand-in for Dom Casual).

I just had a thought: could our mystery "not quite Futura Display" face be Franklin? That would be kind of a case of "hiding in plain sight," but still . . .

Hmm. That has me thinking of a visual pun I once saw: Benjamin Franklin in heavy "goth" makeup, with the caption, "Franklin Gothic." I responded by applying a strong anamorphic squeeze: "Franklin Gothic Extra Condensed."