# Gotham: the Obama campaign font, and a free alternative

> Gotham came from New York building signs. Its history, the campaigns and brands that use it, and Montserrat as a free Google Fonts alternative.

Web page: https://davidewins.com/fonts/gotham

Wide geometric capitals taken from New York building signs.

Preview uses Montserrat, the closest free match.

## History

- Tobias Frere-Jones designed Gotham with Jesse Ragan at Hoefler & Frere-Jones. It was designed in 2000 and released in 2002. [1]
- GQ magazine commissioned it, asking for a geometric structure. [1]
- It is based on mid-century New York architectural lettering, such as the sign on the Port Authority Bus Terminal's Eighth Avenue front. [1]

## Who uses it

- Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign signs and posters [1]
- The One World Trade Center cornerstone (2004) [1]
- The 2010 United States census [1]
- Netflix, until 2018 [1]

## Sources

1. [Wikipedia: Gotham (typeface)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotham_(typeface))

## The free alternative

Montserrat has the same wide, round geometric capitals and an even stroke.

Body fonts that go with Montserrat:

- [Merriweather](https://davidewins.com/fonts?heading=gotham&body=merriweather): A sturdy serif body balances the heavy, wide capitals.
- [Source Serif 4](https://davidewins.com/fonts?heading=gotham&body=source-serif-4): Lighter serif with a modern feel, good for long reads under bold headings.
- [Open Sans](https://davidewins.com/fonts?heading=gotham&body=open-sans): Humanist sans, narrower than the heading, so the two do not blur together.

[Open Gotham in the pairing tool](https://davidewins.com/fonts?heading=gotham)