Suppose you were driving to Cape Town and you saw this sign
or
Not so bad that you would need to stop the car, back up and
read again, but you have to agree, something is just not right.
But suppose you saw this sign
Much better, isn’t it? And for good reason. The font
initially used in Britain and later adapted in many countries on road signs was
developed by South African born typographer and graphic designer Margaret
Calvert and her colleague Jock Kinneir. It was a process starting in 1957 and
after many trials, errors and experimenting ended in the 1960’s. A new font was
born in the process – Transport font. They also invented and designed Transport’s
related family of road signs commonly seen on road sides:
You haven’t thought “Nice
font!” after finding the O.R.Tambo Airport off ramp sign with great relief, did
you? Well, next time you use this one-of-the-most-read-and-directional fonts in
the world, lift your cap for those ingenious pioneers. Appreciate the simple
beauty of it all. And ponder for a moment: What in the course
of an ordinary day do I not see seeing?
Go forth and see.
George
Comments
Post a Comment