I just read this interesting NY Times article on Clearview, the new typeface that’s being used for highway signs. The article should be understandable by non typography-geeks, and perhaps of interest to those who want to understand why designers care about superficially similar typefaces so much. Oddly no mention is made of spacing between letters (kerning), which seems much more regular in Clearview.
This is an instance of typography saving lives. Clearview signs can be read 200-300 feet further away than signs of the same size set in Highway Gothic. This gives drivers extra seconds to process information and make decisions.
I’m sorta ashamed i never noticed how badly suited the old Highway Gothic is for highway use, but i guess you never get a chance to spend much time looking at the typography of the signs.
hi i enjoyed the read
Wow. I had no idea that the typeface was so important. Truly, font does penetrate every corner of our society.
I used another browser with a different font, yesterday, to view a website that I had been to many times. The font was smaller, and harder to read. The site looked much more unfriendly than it did using my normal browser. The font did it in.
Fonts are truly a mass media… Literally, everyone will see this Clearview font. It appeals to young and old alike - and, it is free to view! It is also posted every few miles in the USA on big boards just to make sure everyone knows about it.
The Road to Clarity is eye-opening - at least, it was to me. Unfortunately, the 6-page document is littered with big, graphic, distracting ads. I recommend copying the text to another program and reading it from there. Still, a good read.
very interesting. i’m adding in RSS Reader