Gotham, a typeface used in the film, Inception
I have watched Inception last weekend and I have to say it’s a really mind-blowing film. People are saying that Chris Nolan invaded everyone’s dream and planted the idea that the film is great *laughs* but that’s not the main point.
What really caught my attention was the choice of typeface used. It is immediately obvious that they did not use Trajan for their movie posters, something I applaud. Trajan is an overused typeface – and here’s a non-exhaustive list of popular films in the past that have used Trajan in their posters (in fact, there are 153 and counting posters):
- The Final Destination (2009)
- One Missed Call (2008)
- Sex and the City (2008)
- Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
- I Am Legend (2007)
- Star Dust (2007)
- Final Destination 3 (2006)
- Requiem (2006)
- The Core (2003)
- A Beautiful Mind (2001)
- The Mummy Returns (2001)
- The Perfect Storm (2000)
- The Mummy (1999)
- City of Angels (1998)
- Deep Rising (1998)
- Titanic (1997)
Gotham Typeface
They chose Gotham instead. It is a geometric typeface designed by Tobias Frere-Jones and Jesse Ragan. Familiar typeface, isn’t it? That’s because Gotham has appeared in:
- Obama’s presidential campaign posters
- Movie posters of Moon (by the way I recommend you watch this film)
- Branding for Discovery Channel, USA Network, Astro and more.
- Chicago’s 2016 Summer Olympics bid.
Do you think it’s funny that they used Gotham? Do you think they chose it on purpose? As in… Gotham City from Batman, which Nolan also directs? Being that the main movie poster for Inception is a direct reflection of the main movie poster for The Dark Knight, I wouldn’t doubt that the designers chose this font on purpose because of the name. :) Just something to think about!
I was going to mention the same thing that Sarah Camp did, the fact a font name Gotham, which is also a reference to Batman, another movie that Nolan has directed, was used in the poster. Nonetheless, it is a good move on the poster designer’s part, as I agree Trajan Pro has been used ad nauseam. (My own websites included.)
Nolan’s pretty good at these easter eggs, if this were in any way deliberate.
(Sorry about the double posting. I wasn’t done with my comment, and I accidentally pressed “Submit”.)
The uncanny coincidence did struck me but I guess it’s purely… well, conincidental. Gotham was a typeface designed before Batman Begins started filming (2005), in the year of 2000. The only logical reason I can explain the coincidence is that Gotham is a nickname for New York City that was coined by Washington Irving in the 19th century:
From a socio-economical perspective, New York City was home to organised gangs and dark back alleys which were a recurring element in the Batman comic and films.
The typeface, on the other hand, consists of geometric fonts that are commonly spotted in NYC, from which the designers drew inspiration from:
The coincidence is that Chris Nolan direct the Batman film which was set in Gotham City, a city modelled after NYC from its architecture and socio-economical climate, and the very same director directed the film Inception which used Gotham typeface, a font pack designed after typefaces spotted throughout NYC.
I realize that the typeface was designed before Batman Begins – what I am saying is that the designers may have somewhat *chosen* the typeface because it is named Gotham. :) As a tongue-in-cheek kind of joke.
Oh, I get what you mean. You’re right, maybe Chris had a LOL moment he realized they’re going to use Gotham for the Inception title. He’s no stranger to the city, eh?
I don’t think Cristpher Nolan has that much of control over promotional material. I think it’s just a coincidence. A good one indeed :) But when i saw the poster, i was like ‘Hey i know this font!’. Besides, the movie was one of the best i’ve seen in a while :)
The film’s production company probably had the most interaction with the creative agency that designed the key art for Inception (Ignition Print)..so it’s mostly coincidental that they chose a font named Gotham for use across the film’s advertising materials.
I stumbled across this post and thought it was pretty funny – I’ve actually been keeping a tally of where I see Gotham, especially in film advertising. The list goes on!
- Inception
- Gran Torino
- The Lovely Bones
- Food Inc
- Eat Pray Love
- Hereafter
- Never Say Never (upcoming Justin Bieber film, barf)
- The Tourist
- The Switch (German version)
Ah, thanks for adding on to the list of film posters using Gotham. I first came across the typeface when I watched Moon (have you watched it?) and I found it eeriely similar to the one Inception was using, so I did a little bit of research and voila.
Thanks for dropping by! I guess this will be very much to your surprise, but I have in fact stumbled on your site before. It was through a CSS gallery that I can’t remember :)
Ah very cool. I have seen Moon, good flick…very Danny Boyle ‘Sunshine’-ish.
I hate to say this but… Sunshine doesn’t have much of a scientific basis and is riddled with plot holes. But got to credit them for the effects.
Moon, on the other side, has its directors consulting scientists regarding moon mining and has some sort of scientific basis to the film, heh.
Indeed, I agree that the Trajan typeface is overused, seen it on a lot of movie posters. But they must be using it because it’s good and professional. I also like and appreciate the original posters with original ideas and things.