A Brief History Of Franklin Gothic You've likely seen the Franklin Gothic typeface a thousand times without even realizing it. From advertising logos and billboards, television and movie screens, books and album covers, board games and computer games, this timeless typeface is everywhere. Morris Fuller Benton created the original version of Franklin Gothic in 1902. The typeface found its influence in Akzidenz Grotesk types and it was issued by American Type Founders (ATF), where Benton himself served as chief typeface