Typeface Review: "Bank Gothic"

What It Looks Like:

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Its History: Created by Morris Fuller Benton in 1930, "'Bank Gothic' as a typeface made exclusively of small capitals, which adds to the technical impression it creates. Morris Fuller Benton took inspiration from a late-19th-century gravestone, whose inscription he recorded by taking a rubbing.

"In February 2007, Linotype released a wonderfully reinterpreted and expanded version of Bank Gothic, Morris Sans, designed by Dan Reynolds under type director Akira Kobayashi. For the first time, the geometric typeface was available in three weights and two widths, with a lowercase and a great number of extras. The new typeface takes its name from its original 'inventor'." (Source below.)

It is part of a family of fonts with a long range of varieties of weight such as Light, Light Condensed, Medium, Medium Condensed, Bold, and Bold Condensed.

Poster for the movie "I, Robot" featuring the typeface Bank Gothic.
Picture available here.

What Type of Font Is It: Grotesque Sans Serif - "developed in the 19th century, [they] evolved from display type, sign-writing, and architectural lettering. Grotesques combine legibility with visual interest and are well adapted to a range of functions, from informational signage to display typography, exploiting the dynamics of space, scale, and alignment." (Source below.)

How You Can Design With It: With its legibility useful as a way to communicate something in a short and bold burst of text, like a poster or book cover, but can also be used in smaller blocks of text.

Where You Can Get It: Available for a free download here: http://fontzone.net/font-details/BankGothic+Md+BT+Medium/ and http://www.fonts101.com/fonts/view/Uncategorized/53668/BankGothic. There are Bank Gothic Alternatives available for purchase here: http://www.fontshop.com/fontlist/alternatives/bank_gothic/.

Descriptive Terms For It: all-caps, classical, large blocks of text, modern, readable, sans serif, scifi, strong, technical, versatile, variety, and whole family.

Sources: http://luc.devroye.org/fonts-46711.html, http://www.100besttypefaces.com/74_Bank+Gothic.html, "The Complete Typographer: A Manual for Designing with Type" by Will Hill, 2nd Edition, p. 118, and http://www.typeoff.de/2008/04/10/this-typeface-will-break-your-heart/.

Examples:

Poster for the movie "Gridiron Gang" featuring the typeface Bank Gothic.
Picture available here.

Poster for the movie "Event Horizon" featuring the typeface Bank Gothic.
Picture available here.

Poster for the movie "Ironman" featuring the typeface Bank Gothic.
Picture available here.