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Interstate (typeface)
Encyclopedia
Interstate is a digital typeface
designed by Tobias Frere-Jones
in the period 1993–1999, and licensed by Font Bureau
. The typeface is closely related to the FHWA Series fonts
, a signage alphabet drawn for the United States Federal Highway Administration
in 1949.
Frere-Jones' Interstate face, while optimal for signage, has refinements making it suitable for text setting in print and on-screen, and gained popularity as such in the 90s. Due to its wide spacing it is best suited for display usage in print, but Frere-Jones later designed another signage typeface, Whitney
, published by Hoefler & Frere-Jones
, which bears a resemblance to its ancestor while being less flamboyant and more economical for general print usage, in body copy or headlines.
The terminals of ascending and descending strokes are cut at an angle to the stroke (see lowercase t, and l), and on curved strokes (see lowercase e and s), terminals are drawn at a 90° angle to the stroke, positioning them at an angle to the baseline. Counters
are open, even in the bold and bold condensed weights, further contributing to legibility.
The font is used by a number of large organisations in their logotype and branding materials. Notable examples include Sainsbury's Supermarkets, recent signage for Southwest Airlines
, Invesco Perpetual
, UK rail company c2c
, Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College
, Lamborghini
, Cognizant Technology Solutions
and CISV International. In May 2008 Ernst & Young
adopted the use of Interstate in marketing materials and reports as part of a new global visual identity.
In 2004, The Weather Channel
started using the fonts on-air and on IntelliStar
systems. It was added to TWC's WeatherSTAR XL in a graphical update in 2005. It was mainly retired in 2008, for Helvetica Neue and Akzidenz-Grotesk.
In November 2006 the US Army launched its Army Strong ad campaign, utilising Interstate as its primary typeface for all ad material.
This font is since used for their on-air newscasts and general branding for the Global Television Network
stations.
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....
designed by Tobias Frere-Jones
Tobias Frere-Jones
Tobias Frere-Jones is a prolific type designer who works in New York City with fellow type designer Jonathan Hoefler at Hoefler & Frere-Jones, a type foundry in lower Manhattan...
in the period 1993–1999, and licensed by Font Bureau
Font Bureau
The Font Bureau, Inc. or Font Bureau is a digital type foundry based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The foundry is one of the leading designers of typefaces, specializing in type designs for magazine and newspaper publishers....
. The typeface is closely related to the FHWA Series fonts
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...
, a signage alphabet drawn for the United States 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...
in 1949.
Frere-Jones' Interstate face, while optimal for signage, has refinements making it suitable for text setting in print and on-screen, and gained popularity as such in the 90s. Due to its wide spacing it is best suited for display usage in print, but Frere-Jones later designed another signage typeface, Whitney
Whitney (typeface)
New York’s Whitney Museum asked Tobias Frere-Jones to develop an institutional typeface. Frere-Jones subsequently created the Whitney font. Two key requirements Tobias Frere-Jones was to meet with the deliverables were flexibility for editorial requirements, and a design consistency with the...
, published by Hoefler & Frere-Jones
Hoefler & Frere-Jones
Hoefler & Frere-Jones is an influential type foundry in New York City, run by designers Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones. With both their similarities and their likings it was only a matter of time that both their paths would come across and would have became business partners. Both Hoefler...
, which bears a resemblance to its ancestor while being less flamboyant and more economical for general print usage, in body copy or headlines.
The terminals of ascending and descending strokes are cut at an angle to the stroke (see lowercase t, and l), and on curved strokes (see lowercase e and s), terminals are drawn at a 90° angle to the stroke, positioning them at an angle to the baseline. Counters
Counter (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...
are open, even in the bold and bold condensed weights, further contributing to legibility.
The font is used by a number of large organisations in their logotype and branding materials. Notable examples include Sainsbury's Supermarkets, recent signage for Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
, Invesco Perpetual
Invesco Perpetual
Invesco Perpetual is an investment company based in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England.-Description and history:It was originally founded by Sir Martyn Arbib as Perpetual Mutual and then Perpetual plc...
, UK rail company c2c
C2c
c2c is a British train operating company that is part of the National Express Group. It provides passenger rail services on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line from Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London to east London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway...
, Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College
Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College
Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College is a college of further education based across four campuses located in Acton, Ealing, Hammersmith and Southall districts of London, England. The college provides education for over 25,000 students, and it is a member of the 157 Group of high performing...
, Lamborghini
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...
, Cognizant Technology Solutions
Cognizant Technology Solutions
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. is an American global provider of custom information technology, consulting and business process outsourcing services. Its headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, United States and is a member of NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500 and Fortune 500...
and CISV International. In May 2008 Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
adopted the use of Interstate in marketing materials and reports as part of a new global visual identity.
In 2004, The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel is a US cable and satellite television network since May 2, 1982, that broadcasts weather forecasts and weather-related news, along with entertainment programming related to weather 24 hours a day...
started using the fonts on-air and on IntelliStar
IntelliStar
IntelliStar is the fifth generation successor to the WeatherStar systems used by the American cable TV and satellite TV channel The Weather Channel , for inserting local forecasts and current weather information into TWC's programming...
systems. It was added to TWC's WeatherSTAR XL in a graphical update in 2005. It was mainly retired in 2008, for Helvetica Neue and Akzidenz-Grotesk.
In November 2006 the US Army launched its Army Strong ad campaign, utilising Interstate as its primary typeface for all ad material.
This font is since used for their on-air newscasts and general branding for the Global Television Network
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
stations.