To say a whole lot of people are getting a whole lot of excited about which premieres in Los Angeles today is kind of an understatement. More than just a new installment in the insanely popular franchise, the new film by J.J. Abrams seems to be bringing back many elements from the beloved original trilogy, one example being the dirtier, shabby version of machinery and technology. And then there is the return of some familiar faces we never dared hope to see again, like Princess Leia, Han Solo and Chewbacca. However there is one familiar face whose return went largely unnoticed to anyone but us type geeks – the typeface.
Re: Star Wars font or similar? Hernandiego Oct 31, 2017 7:38 AM ( in response to KimGraphicDesigner ) I realize this is late for the original post, but Restore on Typekit looks very similar to the Star Wars title font.
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” This line – one of the most well-known sentences in pop culture – has left an indelible mark in our collective consciousness. It precedes the at the beginning of the epic space opera: an introduction that sets the story for each film. The sight of the yellow text – set in the typeface – disappearing into the far reaches of space is guaranteed to send shivers along the spine of any self-respecting sci fi aficionado (unless they’re a Trekkie of course). Those famous words also found their way on the poster for the original 1977 movie (which revisionist young punks insist on calling ) with classic artwork. While the logo was custom-drawn by Ralph McQuarrie in a blocky sans serif mimicking the perspective of the opening crawl, the tagline and credits were set in.
© 1980 Lucasfilm – Tagline on the original Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back one sheet – Click the image to see the complete poster on IMPAwards. By the time in 1980, ’s geometric has disappeared from the promotional materials. After it already had been featured at the beginning of the opening crawl and on the for the first movie, the classic Star Wars logo finally shows up on the main theatrical poster – again with an illustration by Tom Jung., the logo was revised by Joe Johnston, and then outfitted with a new ‘W’ by Rice again. On this poster it is integrated into a border running around the movie title. The somewhat awkward shapes of the ‘R’ and the two ‘S’s make it seem as if they were specifically drawn for this purpose, because they connect seamlessly to the lines of the frame. The tagline was probably hand-lettered in a style based on the Star Wars logo; the credits are set in the typeface, another ’70s stalwart. © 1983 Lucasfilm – Title on the original Star Wars: Return of The Jedi one sheet – Click the image to see the complete poster on IMPAwards.
When we witness three years later (seriously, he sure took his sweet time) there is a noticeable shift in typographic voice. Gone is the punchy sans serif often associated with action movies, and the designer wanders into more epic territory to complement the lush artwork. Yet we are still only 6 B.T. (before ) as the original release of the program is another six years away. In the absence of a better option the movie title ends up being set in the typeface with an elongated on the ‘J’.
Taken out of the context of the stacked lock-up of the original logo or the frame in the poster for The Empire Strikes Back, the Star Wars logo itself now looks even more awkward, with the of the first ‘R’ and the top of the final ‘S’ aimlessly poking into nothingness. The Trajan Menace © 1999 Lucasfilm – Title on the Star Wars: The Phantom Menace one sheet – Click the image to see the complete poster on IMPAwards. The prequels that make up the second trilogy were released around and right after the turn of the millennium. This time around the marketing collaterals go full-blown epic.
The legendary delivers majestic artwork in his signature style. 15 years ago the typeface was still the poster child (pardon the pun) for grandiose film sagas, so its appearance on the posters is self-evident. The supporting typeface is, which my research as a follow-up to with revealed to be one of the main precursors to Trajan. Both typefaces share dignified, chiseled looks that are enhanced by the addition of gradients and bevels. The Star Wars logo itself gets the shiny metal treatment.
Return of ITC Serif Gothic © 2015 Lucasfilm Bad Robot Truenorth Productions – Teaser logo for Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Click the image to see the logo treatment and first poster on Adweek’s PRNewser. I tried to emulate the original tagline as well as I could using the ITC Serif Regular font, with -75 negative for that typical 70s ‘tight but not touching’ look.
I applied -125 negative to neatly tuck the elipsis underneath the of the ‘y’, and added +35 to the right side of the ‘t’ to detach it from the ‘i’. Yet this could only get me so far.
– the is the only one to have the correct ‘t’ with a tail, but no digital version features the ‘a’, the ‘e’ with slanted, nor the ‘f’ with elongated tail. Because most fonts from that era were display faces, they were decked out with numerous for maximum versatility. This allowed designers to fine-tune the lock-up until it was just right.
Sadly almost none of those extras made it to digital. It is about time someone revisited ITC’s advertising classics and restored them to their original glory. As for the movie itself – don’t spoil it for me! – I cannot wait to watch it to see if there are any other typographic treasures to be discovered. The poster itself will definitely be discussed in the January 2016 edition of ScreenFonts. For more Star Wars-related typographic goodness, read about the history of Suzy Rice’s original Star Wars logo design on, and about the little-known pre-release version by Joe Johnston on. And if just like me you are intrigued by typography in science fiction movies, go over to, ’s excellent blog dedicated to fonts in sci-fi.
Star Wars fans are a passionate bunch, and you are guaranteed to always find a bigger geek than yourself. This article was updated and corrected on December 20, with contributions by Ness Steadman, Richard Palermo, and Stephen Coles. Header image:. Trademark attribution notice ITC Serif Gothic and Avant Garde are trademarks of Monotype ITC Inc. Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and which may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. Trade Gothic is a trademark of Monotype GmbH registered in the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. Albertus is a trademark of The Monotype Corporation registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Trajan is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated which may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.