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Clearview (typeface)
Encyclopedia
Clearview, also known as Clearview Hwy, is the name of a humanist sans-serif
typeface
family for guide sign
s on road
s in the United States
. It was developed by independent researchers with the help of the Texas Transportation Institute
and the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute
, under the supervision of the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA). It is expected to gradually replace the FHWA typefaces
over the next few decades in many applications.
spaces, the enclosed spaces in letters like the lower case "e" or "a," and a higher x-height
, the relative height of the lower case "x" to the upper case "X." Smaller counter spaces in the FHWA fonts reduced legibility, particularly when the letters glowed from headlight illumination at night.
, citing lack of testing on Clearview's numerals, symbols, and narrower typefaces.
for corporate use, including advertising, beginning in 2006. ClearviewText and ClearviewADA are versions of the typeface intended for use in general graphic design and ADA-compliant
signage.
Sans-serif
In typography, a sans-serif, sans serif or san serif typeface is one that does not have the small projecting features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. The term comes from the French word sans, meaning "without"....
typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
family for guide sign
Traffic sign
Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of roads to provide information to road users. With traffic volumes increasing over the last eight decades, many countries have adopted pictorial signs or otherwise simplified and standardized their signs to facilitate international travel...
s on road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
s in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was developed by independent researchers with the help of the Texas Transportation Institute
Texas Transportation Institute
The Texas Transportation Institute in College Station, Texas is the largest transportation research agency in the United States. Created in 1950, primarily in response to the needs of the Texas Highway Department , TTI has since broadened its focus to address all modes of transportation–highway,...
and the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute
Pennsylvania Transportation Institute
The Pennsylvania Transportation Institute , founded in 1968, is a research unit of Penn State University's College of Engineering.Located in a research complex on the Penn State’s University Park Campus, PTI has several full-scale field facilities and a number of experimental laboratories,...
, under the supervision of the Federal Highway Administration
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...
(FHWA). It is expected to gradually replace the FHWA typefaces
FHWA Series fonts
The FHWA Series fonts are a set of sans-serif typefaces developed by the United States Federal Highway Administration and used for road signage in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, Spain, The Netherlands, Turkey, Brazil and New Zealand. The fonts were created to maximize legibility at a...
over the next few decades in many applications.
History
The standard FHWA typefaces, developed in the 1940s, were designed to work with a system of highway signs in which almost all words are capitalized. The designers of Clearview sought to create a typeface adapted for mixed-case signage, initially expecting it would be based on an existing European sans-serif typeface. Instead, using a similar weight to the FHWA fonts, a new font was created from scratch. Two key differences are much larger counterCounter (typography)
In typography, a counter or aperture is an area entirely or partially enclosed by a letter form or a symbol . Letters containing closed counters include A, B, D, O, P, Q, R, a, b, d, e, g, o, p, and q. Letters containing open counters include c, f, h, i, s etc. The digits 0, 4, 6, 8, and 9 also...
spaces, the enclosed spaces in letters like the lower case "e" or "a," and a higher x-height
X-height
In typography, the x-height or corpus size refers to the distance between the baseline and the mean line in a typeface. Typically, this is the height of the letter x in the font , as well as the u, v, w, and z...
, the relative height of the lower case "x" to the upper case "X." Smaller counter spaces in the FHWA fonts reduced legibility, particularly when the letters glowed from headlight illumination at night.
Official acceptance
Clearview was granted interim approval by the FHWA for use on positive contrast road signs (light legend on dark background, such as white on green, blue, or brown) on September 2, 2004. The FHWA has not granted approval for Clearview to be used on negative contrast road signs (dark legend on light background, such as black on white or yellow), given its inferior legibility to the existing FHWA typefaces in these applications, although it is used in this fashion in Pennsylvania. The FHWA also refused to add Clearview to the 2009 MUTCDManual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices is a document issued by the Federal Highway Administration of the United States Department of Transportation to specify the standards by which traffic signs, road surface markings, and signals are designed, installed, and used...
, citing lack of testing on Clearview's numerals, symbols, and narrower typefaces.
Variants
In addition to its appearance on road signage, a customized version of the ClearviewText typeface was adopted by AT&TAT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
for corporate use, including advertising, beginning in 2006. ClearviewText and ClearviewADA are versions of the typeface intended for use in general graphic design and ADA-compliant
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009....
signage.
See also
- Public signage typefaces