I could stare at typefaces for hours on end. Everything from their curves, swoops, sexy calligraphic lines, to the personalities — doesn’t the OneLeigh ‘g’ look sad and crumbled below? — that draw me in for a closer look. I enjoy everything about them!
While spending time in awe looking at type specimen sheets, there is usually one character sticks out for me —the lowercase letter g, especially those with closed or partially closed loops (also known as a double story).
With swooping necks, quaint ears and abstract loops, the lowercase g has become a beautiful character to fall in love with, and type designers have been creating some extremely lovely and mesmerizing ones for years. Below are a 30+ standout (below the baseline) lowercase g’s for your viewing pleasure.
What’s your favorite lowercase g? Have one that’s not included? Please share in the comments below.
I often find that the lower-case “g” and the “a” allow for much of the personality and definition of the typeface to shine through. Nice round-up; Barcelona is a particular favourite!
Out of the list, I like the Didot typeface. Very nice list by the way.
I’d have to say I’m in the same boat with you. Type design fascinates me and I would have to agree, the lowercase ‘g’ is a fantastic letterform. A very thought provoking post for us type geeks.
Great examples to study. The lower case “g” is always something I take an early look at when selecting type – especially when seeking a unique body copy type. The “g” of Cheltenham has always been a favorite of mine.
Stuart, Al, Leighton,
Appreciate the comment and glad you were able to bask in the geekiess with me :)
Jeff,
I agree, the g is a character my eye looks for immediately. I’ve always felt it had the most personality out of the bunch. Also, Cheltenham is a beauty! Thanks for sharing.
Love this article. The letter “g” is a work of art, I love it when fonts/font designers accentuate this character.
I love this kind of articles where typography is the topic, personally I always look at the Ampersand of a typeface because I find it interesting.
Nice article Brian, I like it!.
Hi Brian: Great study. My two favorite letters in any font are lower case “g” and lower case “a”. “G” is so quirky upper or lower, and is probably the most illustrative of any letter in the Roman alphabet.
I love the lowercase “g”. I find myself always drawing them in my sketch book and experimenting. A “g” can be so elaborate or so simple in it’s treatment. I also agree with Stuart on the “a”. Another big favorite of mine.
Even though I wouldn’t think of American Typewriter as a beautiful font, I’m surprised at how lovely the “g” is! Interesting!
MrsEaves is realy cool, but they are all nice.
Very nice “g” im really confused about which one is the best, but i defently love the “Luna” nice collection Brian
Same Ol’ G? Think Again: A visual study of the lowercase g…
With swooping necks, quaint ears and abstract loops, the lowercase g has become a beautiful character to fall in love with, and type designers have been creating some extremely lovely and mesmerizing ones for years….
I’m not sure if it’s above or below the baseline, but the lower case Garamond is spectacular.
/ Jeff
That Alber g is truly a thing of beauty.
With that said: I’ve never seen a blog post about a single letter from a typeface. Kudos on the creativity, and being able to capture our attention with it, Brian.
Ah very cool post idea! I really like seeing the difference side by side. If you scroll through quickly it makes me think ‘wait, are those really g’s?” I’m sure you felt the same way putting the post together.
the letter g has always been my favorite letterform.
The alber and the kari are very cool.
Great post.
Love this post! Friz Quadrata provides another quality lowercase “g”.
Awesome concept.
I really love Alber. It is really approachable, and bright. Love the negative space used toward the bottom part of the “g.”
I loved this! Lowercase Gs are so elegant, and it was really interesting to see such a big collection of them, side by side to compare. I absolutely love Barcelona Book’s. So nice. :D
would it be terribly cheesy if i say Andrade is my favorite?
I think that I shall never see a letter form as lovely as the lowercase “g” …
thanks for the post!
For me it’s Kari. Like a one-eared dog, arrogantly flipping his tail.
A delightful post.
I really love Akkurat. It has the most beautiful lowercase “g”.
Love this post :)
I have to say that American Typewriter Light and Minion Pro are very artistic. Hydra Text has the modern feel so it is a special visual study.
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What a great assortment of “characters” – in every sense of the word!
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Lower case “g” if my favorite character. I visualize and doodle new twists and turns and angles all the time. Thank you for the eye candy!
Fun post! So many of us geeky ‘g’ and ‘a’ lovers!
great post as usual!
I love this site… you did an awesome job… I have had the hardest time finding lower case g’s like this style… this is the first time I had more than one to choose from that I liked !!!! Thanks for doing this
This is a great page. Thank you! I’m changing my business name and it will start with one of these lovelies! I’m wondering if you know of a good pairing for fertigo….
Nice article. I’m not a designer, but am looking at the treatment of the letters in my small business name, ‘leverage’, which pairs Catherine Azzerello’s favorite letters. Thinking my g will look like a cross between University roman and sang bleu
I really like the American Typewriter light g.