Gill Sans at a glance
| Category | Sans Serif |
|---|---|
| Designer | Eric Gill (Monotype, 1928) |
| Styles on iOS | 6 (Regular, Bold, Bold Italic, Italic, Light, Light Italic) |
| First on iPhone | iOS 5.0 |
| First on iPad | iOS 4.3 |
| Family name | Gill Sans |
| Default PostScript name | GillSans |
PostScript names for every Gill Sans style
iOS looks fonts up by their PostScript name, not the friendly family name. Use the names below exactly as written — they are case-sensitive.
| Style | PostScript name | iPhone | iPad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular | GillSans | 5.0 | 4.3 |
| Bold | GillSans-Bold | 5.0 | 4.3 |
| Bold Italic | GillSans-BoldItalic | 5.0 | 4.3 |
| Italic | GillSans-Italic | 5.0 | 4.3 |
| Light | GillSans-Light | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Light Italic | GillSans-LightItalic | 5.0 | 5.0 |
How to use Gill Sans in code
SwiftUI
Text("Hello, world")
.font(.custom("GillSans", size: 17, relativeTo: .body))UIKit
let base = UIFont(name: "GillSans", size: 17)!
label.font = UIFontMetrics(forTextStyle: .body).scaledFont(for: base)
label.adjustsFontForContentSizeCategory = trueObjective-C
label.font = [UIFont fontWithName:@"GillSans" size:17];CSS for Safari on iPhone and iPad
.headline {
font-family: "Gill Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif;
font-weight: 700;
}Wrapping the font in UIFontMetrics, or passing relativeTo: in SwiftUI, lets Gill Sans grow and shrink with the user’s Dynamic Type setting. Read the custom fonts guide for the full checklist, or the San Francisco guide if you want Apple’s system font instead.
Frequently asked questions
What is the PostScript name of Gill Sans on iOS?
Use “GillSans” with UIFont(name:size:) or SwiftUI’s Font.custom(_:size:). The bold style is “GillSans-Bold”. The family has 6 styles: Regular, Bold, Bold Italic, Italic, Light, Light Italic.
Which iOS version added Gill Sans?
According to the iOS Fonts availability data, Gill Sans first shipped on iPhone in iOS 5.0 and on iPad in iOS 4.3.
Can I use Gill Sans on a website?
Safari on iPhone and iPad can render installed system fonts, so a CSS stack such as font-family: "Gill Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; will use Gill Sans on Apple devices and fall back elsewhere. Embedding the font files on a server requires a separate web licence from the foundry.