This increased x-height ? which improved the typeface's appearance and readability ? and the availability of larger family made ITC Franklin Gothic a preferred choice when setting large blocks of sans serif text. Designed by Victor Caruso, these new designs matched the pure characteristics of the original Franklin Gothic, adhering closely to the subtle thick and thin pattern of the original ATF typeface while featuring a slightly enlarged lowercase x-height. In 1979, under license from ATF, International Typeface Corporation created four new weights ? Book, Medium, Demi and Heavy ? in roman and italic versions. For some unknown reason no light or intermediate weights were ever created.
Over the next several years, the ATF family was expanded to include italic, condensed, condensed shaded, extra condensed and wide variants. Designed in 1904 by Morris Fuller Benton for the American Type Founders company, Franklin Gothic was originally conceived as only one weight.
