What's the font in the Royal Navy logo?

May 3, 2015 7:07 AM

What font is used in the logo of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom? Obviously the A is custom, but what's the rest of it? The R has a straight leg and the O is circular. It's not any of the usual suspects (Helvetica, Frutiger, Akzidenz-Grotesk, Gill Sans). It's almost Gotham Black, but not quite, and it's driving me nuts! Help!
posted by Faint of Butt to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

Very likely there is no answer. Any or all of the other letters besides the A may have been customized so that the logo is no longer describable as being made of a stock font.
posted by zadcat at 7:24 AM on May 3, 2015

According to this, it is Frutiger
posted by atlantica at 7:25 AM on May 3, 2015

Best answer: Nope, not Frutiger - that's the font for all the type in their brochures and such, but not the actual logo. The capital O is not the right shape at all.

The two Gotham-alikes I see most often are Avenir and Proxima Nova. I'm on my phone and can't verify if it's either of these, but that might be a place to start.
posted by Metroid Baby at 7:32 AM on May 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Metroid Baby, I think you have it. If it's not Avenir (with modified A and L), it's extremely, extremely close and definitely good enough for what I'm doing. Thank you!
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:58 AM on May 3, 2015

I was going to guess it's Gotham, with the A's hand-modified.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:09 AM on May 3, 2015

So, I did a little work in Illustrator and can confirm the font is Gotham, though the weight seems to be between bold and heavy. The R has been slightly modified to reduce how much the round part overhangs the angled leg. And, of course, the A's are substantially modified.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:16 AM on May 3, 2015 [1 favorite]