In 2020–2022, GQ Mexico embraced typographic restraint, allowing simplicity to take center stage. For each cover, dynamic photos were paired with mostly sans serif fonts, occasionally punctuated by a hand-lettered or outlined word or phrase.

For the coverlines, the magazine used Sequel Sans Extended by OGJ Type. The designers took full advantage of its wide stance, flat terminals, and range of styles. Each use feels cinematic, often stretching across images or enjoying interplay with a hand-lettered word or phrase.

Supporting this was Suisse Int’l from Swiss Typefaces. Its versatile, clear construction lends structure and balance to the authoritative presence of Sequel Sans Extended. Together, the two typefaces created a harmonious hierarchy: one expansive and deliberate, the other understated and precise.

Some of the covers pair Sequel Sans with Broadway Lights by Red Ink. Secondary fonts used include Breve News by DSType.

Ana Cecilia Aviléz served as Head of Design, with creative direction from Priscila Casañas.

A small sampling of the brilliant work by designer Anton Ioukhnovets for the Manual section of GQ magazine, circa 2005–2009. Under the direction of magazine legend Fred Woodward, the GQ design team of that period included, among others, Ioukhnovets as well as Thomas Alberty, both of whom would go on to top positions at W and New York respectively.

Manual was the first editorial section to greet the reader within each issue of GQ. A surprising aspect of the Manual section was the total reliance on a single typeface, the versatile FB Titling Gothic designed by David Berlow (Font Bureau). The strict adherence to a single family for such a dense section of diverse content might seem like a dubious approach but the results speak for themselves. In describing Manual, designer Anton Ioukhnovets says he often “likes to embracing limitations” and therefore opted for a minimum of elements in the section, a typeface, a few line rules, and the images. Anton explains, "the editorial requirement for this section was that it needed to be very utilitarian and purpose driven—and I wanted the design to reflect this.” “The beauty of the layouts should come from the actual structure, and one thing I was inspired by was the modularity of Excel docs.” added Ioukhnovets.

Often the first sections of magazines (called the FOB or Front of Book) are somewhat compromised in terms of their design. Layouts will appear adjacent to ads which can compete visually, and the smaller budgets for the FOB pages might rely on “pick-up” art rather than custom commissions. What made GQ’s Manual section so special was that it made these dense pages as visually appealing as features, and did so largely through the attention to detail of the typography and the dynamic compositions.

Although I can't prove it, I always suspected the Manual section likely had a wider impact on the magazine design world—shifting the paradigm towards structured grids. Manual predates other notable examples, (Monocle and Francesco Franchi's work at Il) by several years and might possibly have had some influence on them.

The British edition of GQ Style from May 10th 2021 utilizes a striking neon green color—a popular shade known as “terminal green.” The typeface is Gotham Black Italic. The issue comes with various cover variants, featuring Lil Nas X (photographed by Luke Gilford), Neymar Jr. (Kenny Germé), and Mykki Blanco (Josh Hight). In the first one, the name is placed at a tilt that runs perpendicular to the angle of the singer/rapper’s body.

This year, tailoring is being reinterpreted: With lots of color, oversize cuts and 90s vibes – you can now find the best styles of the season in the new GQ Style.

For the issue of Spring 2021, GQ Style Germany magazine uses Continua as the main typeface for headlines, paired with subheads set in Fortescue. The smaller texts use Saol Text and Relative.

Less than 2 months after their original release, SangBleu Empire & SangBleu Sunrise, from the SangBleu family, made a stunning debut in the in December 2017/January 2018 issue of the US edition of men's magazine GQ.

On it introducing issue, SangBleu Empire is mostly featured in playful and colorful compositions on opening spreads. It will then be steadily used as the main titling face across the magazine, alongside SangBleu Sunrise. Other recurring typefaces are GT Pressura and Miller, that are used to set body text and captions. Every issue is also bringing a fistful of titling typefaces that'll remain exclusive to this issue. Among them, Euclid Flex was featured in February 2018 issue.

After the departure of Andre Jointe in March 2018, the magazine started to be slowly redesigned by its new art director Justin Patrick Long. Unfortunately, the SangBleu family didn't made the cut into the new design layout and last appeared in the July 2018 issue.

SangBleu Empire & SangBleu Sunrise are part of the SangBleu family. Euclid Flex is part of the Euclid family. Both families are available from Swiss Typefaces.

Euclid Flex was featured exclusively in the February 2018 issue. Note the modified lowercase g, shortened to fit into the ribbon frame.

The December 2019 issue of GQ Korea magazine featured Lee Dong Wook, Minhyun, Song Min Ho, Oh Hyuk. The December issue is habitually dedicated to notable men of the past year:

Men of the Year is GQ’s annual celebration of the year’s cultural high points, packed with interviews, profiles, and videos featuring the actors, musicians, politicians, designers, and more whose work we can't stop talking about.

Art director Kiyeol Kim explored an experimental typographic language merging Millionaire Script and custom geometric/illustrative letters for headlines. Body text is set in ABC Favorit and Sandoll GothicNeo.

Headline typography featuring early use of ToY in the September 2019 edition of GQ Korea magazine. The interior spreads shown here pair ToY with the magazine’s brand typefaces Favorit (Latin) and Sandoll GothicNeo1 (Hangul).

Art direction and design by Kiyeol Kim.
Cover photography by Hyea W. Kang and Na Jung Moke.

Alternate cover.

Unno by Regular Lines in use for the November edition of Korean GQ men’s magazine. Art direction and design by Kiyeol Kim.

Function in use for the April issue of GQ magazine (US Edition)

The October 2016 issue of GQ uses A2 Ergonomics as display type, with Grilli Type’s GT Pressura Mono Bold for subheads.

Baton by Fatype as seen in GQ’s April 2013 issue (French edition)