Posterwire.com is a movie poster weblog. From images of the latest Hollywood one-sheets to vintage movie posters, this film poster weblog hopes to offer a bit of insight into film key art.
Master typographer Ed Benguiat is one of the most important font and logo designers in the modern era of design and publishing. He has created the lettering used in logotypes for the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, and Playboy. He designed such typefaces as Avant Garde Gothic and Caslon, which you probably have installed on your computer as you read this. (For you typophiles out there, House Industries has a font collection tribute to Ed Benguiat you may be interested in.)
Edward Benguiat also produced type used in movie posters, including logos for Planet of the Apes and Super Fly. It’s interesting how a good logo can elevate a poster for films about those “damn dirty apes” or a 70s cocaine drug dealer. This is especially true in the case of the one-sheets for Super Fly, which gives the wonderfully “swashy” Benguiat logo the prominence it deserves. Blaxploitation never looked so good.
Some typophiles over at the Typophile Forums point out that it’s misleading to say Benguiat designed Avant Garde Gothic and Caslon, as opposed to the ITC versions. You can read more about in this thread. Apologize for any confusion.
The link to the Typophile Forums does not work.
I’ve updated the link to Typophile — they changed their forums. Thanks for the heads-up!
Caslon was designed by William Caslon I.
what font is that on the superfly poster?