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Gotham or Proxima Nova?
Posted by Nikabrik in
12 Aug 2010 — 12:07pm
12 Aug 2010 — 12:07pm
I'm going to buy one of them today for use in a logo/identity project, and for the use in the logo (all caps) they look pretty similar. Aside from very slight stylistic things, the main differences I can see is that Gotham has 8 weights instead of 7, and Proxima comes with small caps.
Been thinking about this for a while (I don't buy big font familiess that often) and I am having a really hard time deciding.
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12 Aug 2010 — 12:37pm
In this circumstance, I'd personally go with Proxima Nova. If you do any online work you have the benefit of using the web version via @font-face.
12 Aug 2010 — 1:02pm
Proxima Nova. Gotham is losing it’s cache quickly because it’s becoming a favorite of hacks who just slap together low-budget work with templates and popular fonts. I’m seeing a lot of it in drug store signage and store-brand products. Not something clients are going to want to be associated with.
12 Aug 2010 — 1:13pm
Do I need a TypeKit account for the Proxima @font-face setup?
I just noticed that they've got different uppercase "M"s as well... I think I prefer Gotham's... but it's hard to make a choice like this based on one letter.
When will H&FJ fonts be web-friendly? Seems like they're the last to get on board.
12 Aug 2010 — 2:11pm
Proxima Nova is great! That a was at first very unfamiliar to me, but I’m gettin’ there on that one. Another contemporary geometric (although not so strict) is Galaxie Polaris, and a typeface I find very interesting is the grotesque-geometric gap bridging in Graphik.
12 Aug 2010 — 2:22pm
Shameless plug: You can get Proxima Nova + unlimited web license from Fontspring. Here's the link: http://www.fontspring.com/fonts/mark-simonson-studio/proxima-nova
12 Aug 2010 — 7:37pm
definitely Proxima Nova, I think it has more personality than Gotham. Even in caps looks gorgeous: http://drbl.in/42345
14 Aug 2010 — 2:18pm
I know I'm late to this party -- and the votes have been unanimous -- but the other positive thing I would say about Proxima Nova is that it has more sparkle and detail at display sizes. Gotham is so even that at larger sizes it looks a bit dull and monotonous. (I've seen companies adopt Gotham for their identity, and suddenly things are looking bland, bland, bland.)
I think Proxima is a font for a lifetime. Like all H+FJ retail products (with the possible exception of "Fetish No. 338"), Gotham was built to stick around, too. But I suspect designers will find objections to it based on how it's being (over)used, like those James "Dunwich Type" Puckett mentions above. Perhaps Gotham is Tobias Frere-Jones's second Interstate, a great face that's used too much and poorly.
James didn't make a plug for himself, so I'll do it. His family Armitage shares similar source material with Gotham (vernacular, non-typographic lettering from buildings), has a lot of nice detailing, and it's available for print and web licensing.