Clearview Typeface

The New York Times magazine has a detailed look into the development of the Clearview typeface that has been developed for the US road network. Clearview has been in development for a number of years and has been the dream of one graphic designer (Don Meeker) since he was asked to design signs for the State of Oregon’s scenic trails. Meeker set out to replace the organically developed Highway Gothic with a font that could be easily seen and recognized even when bright lights were shone at it. On the original typeface, the NYT Mag says:

The letter shapes of Highway Gothic weren’t ever tested, having never really been designed in the first place. “It’s very American in that way — just smash it together and get it up there,” says Tobias Frere-Jones, a typographer in New York City who came to the attention of the design world in the mid-1990s with his Interstate typeface inspired by the bemusing, awkward charm of Highway Gothic. “It’s brash and blunt, not so concerned with detail. It has a certain unvarnished honesty.”

Don’t expect to see a sudden change to the signs on your next journey. The font will be introduced when signs need to be replaced - a process that might take decades.

NY Times Magazine