Examples of suggested signage modifications, Highway Gothic on the left, Clearview on the right (images from Clearview site): The development team recommends Clearview be adopted for all signage, not just guide signs.
#Clearview font city of phoenix drivers#
At night, the reflectivity of the signs often cause the letters to blur past recognition for some drivers when head lights shine on the signs.Ĭlearview aims to change all that with larger counters, larger x-heights, and mixed-case words.Įxample of halation (over-glow of reflected sign) with mixed-case Highway Gothic, upper-case Highway Gothic, and mixed-case Clearview (image from Clearview site): In addition, the counter-spaces (the hole in the ‘e’ or ‘a’) are small and make the letters harder to read. Much of the signage that uses Highway Gothic is in all-caps, which renders text harder to read, especially at 65+ miles per hour. Joshua Yaffa at The New York Times wrote a must-read piece (if you’re a type, design, or sign buff) about the typeface and its development. This isn’t new news, but my recent trip to Arizona reminded me of the typeface switch.Ĭlearview was developed as a custom typeface by Don Meeker, an environmental graphic designer, and James Montalbano, a type designer. In 2004, the FHWA approved the use of Clearview, a new typeface to eventually replace Highway Gothic on road signs across the country. The typeface, referred to as Highway Gothic, was developed in the 1940s and today is still used on the vast majority of road signs. Until this decade, these signs have used a typeface in the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) sanctioned series of fonts. If you’ve spent any time driving on America’s Interstate System, you’re no doubt accustomed to the system of signs informing you of upcoming exits, mileage distances, speed limits, local services, etc.
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