Industry: Design

Headline Typeface for Fast Company

Directory ink-spread logic redeployed for headlines

Griffith Gothic is a revival by Tobias Frere-Jones and Fred Shallcrass based on Chauncey Griffith's Bell Gothic (1937), originally designed for telephone directories. The project began as a commission from Patrick Mitchell at Fast Company, adapting ink-spread compensation features from directory printing into a headline typeface. The family was subsequently expanded with additional weights, condensed variants, and a new italic.

Set in Griffith Gothic

Insights

The design translates ink-spread features—originally functional compensations for low-quality directory printing—into headline-scale typography.
The original commission came from Fast Company's Patrick Mitchell, grounding the revival in an editorial rather than purely typographic context.
The family was extended beyond the initial commission scope with expanded weights, condensed cuts, and a new italic.