Nickel

Gothic

Nickel Gothic is a striking display sans serif that radiates with strength and energy. Its simple, blocky shapes offer little in the way of sophistication, but they more than make up for it in their raw communicative power. From Compressed to Wide, from Oblique to Backslant, it’s the perfect tool for high-impact, go-big-or-go-home typography.

Like its serifed cousin, the typeface was based on lettering found on a 1918 Chinese banknote. But, despite the fact that it is based on lettering from over a century ago, it has overtones of the midcentury sans serifs like Microgramma/Eurostile as well as squared gothics form the ’70s like Neographik and Serpentine.

While many condensed sans serifs have flat sides, Nickel Gothic’s defining feature is its flat tops and bottoms. These flat exteriors are contrasted with stadium-like interior shapes, which form pockets of weight in the corners of the letterform...I call them “shoulderpads”). These reinforced corners give Nickel Gothic its trademark strength and sturdiness, and make each word land with a thud.