ITC Avant Garde Gothic vs Futura

ITC Avant Garde Gothic was influenced by Futura.

Type specimen — ITC Avant Garde Gothic (Geometric sans); shown in League Spartan, a close match (OFL)

ITC Avant Garde Gothic

Herb Lubalin's 1970 geometric sans, grown from his logotype for Avant Garde magazine — famous (and infamous) for its tightly interlocking ligatures and crisp circular forms. The quintessential look of 1970s graphic design.

  • Near-perfect circular bowls and geometric construction
  • Single-story a and single-story g
  • Sharply pointed apexes on A, M, N
  • Extensive interlocking ligatures and angled alternates
  • High x-height with crisp, even strokes
Full ITC Avant Garde Gothic guide →
Type specimen — Futura (Geometric sans); shown in Jost, a close match (OFL)

Futura

Paul Renner's 1927 geometric sans — letterforms built from near-perfect circles, triangles, and straight lines, the Bauhaus ideal of rational, modern type made commercial.

  • Letterforms built from circles, triangles, and lines
  • Near-perfect circular bowls (o, b, d, p, q)
  • Single-story a and a simple, open-tailed g
  • Sharply pointed apexes on A, M, N, V, W
  • Long ascenders rising above the cap height
Full Futura guide →

At a glance

ITC Avant Garde GothicFutura
Era19701927
DisciplineTypographyTypography
RegionUnited StatesGermany
FamilySans-serifSans-serif
Formal traitsgeometric, single-story-a, ligatured, high-x-heightgeometric, monoline, low-contrast, pointed-apex

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