- Transport (typeface)
Infobox font
name = Transport
familyname =
style =Sans-serif
classifications =
creator =Jock Kinneir Margaret Calvert
commissioned_by =
foundry =URW++
foundries =
creationdate = 1963
releasedate =
trademark =
based_on =
aka =
variations =
sample =
shown_here =
sample_fullTransport is a
sans serif typeface designed forroad sign s in theUnited Kingdom . It was created between 1957 and 1963 byJock Kinneir andMargaret Calvert [http://www.designmuseum.org/design/index.php?id=144 Design Museum — Jock Kinneir + Margaret Calvert] , URL accessed16 May ,2006 ] as part of their work as designers for the Department of Transport's Anderson and Worboys committees.History
Before its introduction, British road signs used the capitals-only Llewelyn-Smith alphabet that was introduced following the Maybury Report of 1933 and revised in 1955–57. Older signs, known as
fingerpost s, tended to use a variety ofsans serif alphabets as supplied by their manufacturers. For the kinds of roads on which either of these alphabets was likely to be seen, legibility was not a pressing issue, but the planning and building of Britain's firstmotorway in the 1950s was a catalyst for change.The Department of Transport appointed an Advisory Committee on Traffic Signs for
Motorway s under the Chairmanship of Sir Colin Anderson in 1957 and Jock Kinneir and his assistant Margaret Calvert were appointed asgraphic design ers to it. All aspects of signing were investigated and tested, initially on thePreston bypass (1958, now part of theM6 motorway ), before their introduction on the (London –Yorkshire ) M1 Motorway a year later. The Committee looked at examples from otherEurope an states as well as theUSA but Kinneir and Calvert found them somewhat harsh and unsatisfactory. Instead, they developed a more rounded typeface with distinctive tails to 'a', 't', and 'l', and bar-less fractions, all of which helped legibility.The Department, seeing the successful early results of this work then appointed another Committee, under the Chairmanship of Sir Walter Worboys and again using Kinneir & Calvert as designers, to look at Traffic Signs for All-Purpose Roads. Work for this also resulted in the introduction of the pictogram signs based on those recommended by the 1949
United Nations World Conference on Road and Motor Transport, often referred to as the Geneva Protocol.Characteristics
Two forms of the typeface exist; Transport Medium and Transport Heavy. Both have the same basic form, but Transport Heavy is boldface, to allow easier readability for black letters on white backgrounds, such as those used on non-primary roads, while Transport Medium is lighter, and is used for white letters on dark backgrounds, such as the blue motorway signs or the green primary route signs.
The Transport typepaces are usually the ones allowed on UK Roadsigns. Signs containing other (usually similar) fonts are found occasionally in some places.
Only a limited number of symbols are available in Transport, mainly those commonly used in road signs, such as primes, the
pound sign and certainvulgar fraction s such as ½ and ⅓. [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/media/fonts/ Chris's British Road Directory] , URL accessed16 May ,2006 ] Variousdiacritic s are also available, for use in languages other than English, such as Welsh and Irish.Other uses around the world
Although developed in the United Kingdom, the typeface has been used in many other countries around the world. As well as the Crown dependencies,
British overseas territories and some limited residual usage in Commonwealth states, the typeface is also used inHong Kong ,Iceland ,Ireland ,Italy ,Greece ,Spain andPortugal , and in much of theMiddle East . In countries where otheralphabet s (such as theArabic alphabet ) are used, Transport is often used forLatin alphabet transliteration s. [ [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/roadsfaq/#36 FAQ §3.6 Fonts on signs] from Chris's British Road Directory]Road signs in the Republic of Ireland useall-caps Transport Heavy for English names; for Irish names, mixed-case Transport Heavy oblique is used with variants for "A", "a" and "i": to contrast better with "Á", "á" and "í",script a and dotless i are used.See also
*
Rail Alphabet — The equivalent font on Britain's railways, also designed by Kinneir & Calvert.
* Johnston Typeface — The London Underground font, designed by Edward Johnston.
*Public signage typefaces
*Road signs in the United Kingdom References
External links
* [http://www.urbanfonts.com/fonts/Transport.htm Transport font family] — The authentic typeface for free download.
* [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/media/fonts/ Chris's British Road Directory] — An ersatz version of the font is available here free of charge.
* [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/media/fonts/ Chris's British Road Directory] — An ersatz version of the "Llywelyn-Smith" alphabet (used on signs prior to 1964) is available here free of charge.
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