Street & City Signs... What font?

[monkey1031 0]

Anybody know what the name of the font, which is used on street and city signs?

Thanks.

-SMD7

[jumpergirl 0]

I've seen signs in different fonts but I think generally they are "Arial." At least that's my guess.

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[IanHarrop 41]

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Anybody know what the name of the font, which is used on street and city signs?

Thanks.

-SMD7

The answer here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_sign

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Typefaces
The typefaces predominantly used on signs in the U.S. and Canada are the FHWA alphabet series (Series B through Series F and Series E Modified). Details of letter shape and spacing for these alphabet series are given in "Standard Alphabets for Traffic Control Devices," first published by the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) in 1945 and subsequently updated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). It is now part of Standard Highway Signs (SHS), the companion volume to the MUTCD which gives full design details for signfaces.

Initially, all of the alphabet series consisted of uppercase letters and digits only, although lowercase extensions were provided for each alphabet series in a 2002 revision of SHS. Current Series B through Series F evolved from identically named alphabet series which were introduced in 1927.

Straight-stroke letters in the 1927 series were substantially similar to their modern equivalents, but unrounded glyphs were used for letters such as B, C, D, etc., to permit more uniform fabrication of signs by illiterate painters. Various state highway departments and the federal BPR experimented with rounded versions of these letters in the following two decades.

The modern, rounded alphabet series were finally standardised in 1945 after rounded versions of some letters (with widths loosely appropriate for Series C or D) were specified as an option in the 1935 MUTCD and draft versions of the new typefaces had been used in 1942 for guide signs on the newly constructed Pentagon road network.

The mixed-case alphabet now called Series E Modified, which is the standard for destination legend on freeway guide signs, originally existed in two parts: an all-uppercase Series E Modified, which was essentially similar to Series E except for a larger stroke width, and a lowercase-only alphabet. Both parts were developed by the California Division of Highways (now Caltrans) for use on freeways in 1948-50.

Initially the Division used all-uppercase Series E Modified for button-reflectorized letters on ground-mounted signs and mixed-case legend (lowercase letters with Series D capitals) for externally illuminated overhead guide signs. Several Eastern turnpike authorities blended all-uppercase Series E Modified with the lowercase alphabet for destination legends on their guide signs.

Eventually this combination was accepted for destination legend in the first manual for signing Interstate highways, which was published in 1958 by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) and adopted as the national standard by the BPR.

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Uses of Non-FHWA Typefaces
The National Park Service uses Clarendon, a serif typeface, for guide signage (typically, but not always, on a brown background); some states also use Clarendon for recreational signage.

Georgia, in the past, used uppercase Series D with a custom lowercase alphabet on its freeway guide signs; the most distinctive feature of this typeface is the lack of a dot on lowercase 'i' and 'j'.[1] More recent installations appear to include the dots.[2]

A new typeface family titled "Clearview" has been developed by U.S. researchers in recent years to provide improved legibility, and is currently permitted for light legend on dark backgrounds under FHWA interim approval. Thus far, Clearview has only seen widespread use by state departments of transportation in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

It is common for local governments, airport authorities, and contractors to fabricate traffic signs using typefaces other than the FHWA series; Arial and Helvetica are common choices.
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