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I've tried using automated online tools (fontspring, whatthefont, fontsquirrel) for font identification but none are returning results that look correct.
My question is - what is the font used on the below button? When I tried whatthefont, its top result was a News Gothic font. But the button letters appear to have rounded ends whereas News Gothic ends were flat. Mil Spec 33558 is kinda similar but the G doesn't match.
This may be a "star trek prop" but it surely is an actual indicator from an airplane cockpit. NASA and Boeing purportedly used Futura and/or Univers. The typeface depicted is surely not Futura, but could be Univers.
However, the type depicted is obviously distorted with uneven outlines and is probably branded (heat applied, debossed) and then the deboss is filled with paint to color it. Considering that, I actually think the typeface may be Helvetica, possibly Helvetica Light. It is obscured, but there is a stem and spur on the G. Univers does not have this.
Looks like a rounded sans serif font (but could also be just really blurred). It's probably applied with some engravement, burned in, or laser engraved, which also can alter the edges of the font.
The 'G' and 'A' are very characteristic, as their contrast look pretty unbalanced. So probably not a popular font that is easy to find. And maybe it's not even a font that is available in digital format but a stamp set or something like this...
FF Din Rounded is similar, though clearly not an exact match.
It looks closest to Franklin Gothic Condensed because the G has a vertical spur, or some variant of it. I agree that it looks rounded, that might be the result of the manufacturing process or cutting tool. I can't find a rounded version of Franklin Gothic, though. This might be closest, but FF DIN Round is a great typeface so if you wanted something with great spacing and production values it might be the best choice.
I have a close-but-not-perfect approximation for you, if you're using a layout program that lets you mess with the aspect ratio and tracking.
This is Swiss 721 BT Rounded Bold, in Photoshop with horizontal compression of 83% and tracking at 60.
For one thing, the crossbar on the A is in the wrong place; but I actually prefer the improved readability so I don't mind that particular compromise too much. Sadly the G is a bit weak.
In my opinion, it is a type of font that was written using a ruler. They were called Leroy.
The point of those types of fonts is that they were written on the blueprints using stylographs, so they were uniform in with and with rounded ends.
Here is a photo of one ruler I found. It is not the same type, or size, or inclination. But that is the idea.
As far as I know, they had no specific name. Probably coded by some number.
