Template Gothic
Emigre · Barry Deck · 1990
Barry Deck's 1990 typeface drawn from plastic lettering stencils, capturing the imperfect, hand-guided letterforms of amateur signage with two weights.
About
Template Gothic emerged from Deck's observation of a laundrette sign made with a plastic lettering guide, translating the wobble and irregularity of that process into a typeface. It became one of the defining faces of early 1990s graphic design, embodying the period's interest in imperfection and vernacular sources. Two weights, Regular and Bold, are available, and the face retains its original rough-edged, hand-made character throughout.
Classification
A distressed sans-serif drawn from hand-lettered signage made with plastic lettering guides, giving it an intentionally imperfect, irregular quality that places it firmly in the display category as a vernacular/grunge typeface.