Benton Sans

Designer: (Morris Fuller Benton) Tobias Frere-Jones, Cyrus Highsmith // Foundry: (American Type Founders) Font Bureau Country of origin: United States // Release years: (1908) 1995–2008 // Classification: Gothic Sans

Benton Sans is a welcome update to Morris Fuller Benton’s News Gothic. At first glance it’s clear that the new face owes a lot to its forefather, but there are some major advancements that bring Benton’s classic into the 21st century. The regular width is slightly wider, allowing it to set paragraphs of text at a smaller size. Terminals point outward, opening apertures and further improving readability. But the most important enhancement is the breadth of the family: eight weights in each of four widths. This large set of options is typical of Font Bureau’s offerings — megafamilies made for the demands of publication design. Good for: Sturdy, plain type for complex typographic hierarchies.