Off-highway uses of FHWA Series D

[Android]

That's funny - I used to word for Pepsi!  However I live in one of the very few regions where the Locallly Owned Bottler Organizations have been able to resist "BIG" Pepsi's mandate to drop other soda lines and still bottles 7-up.  So there is no Sierra Mist sold around here, and no marketing for it either.   So I totally missed Sierra Mist using the FHWA lettering there! 

[BigMattFromTexas]

So I totally missed Sierra Mist using the FHWA lettering there! 

I noticed that last fall when they "revamped" their drink, and got a new can design. I looked at it and was like, that's a highway font!

Well maybe not the smiling part...
BigMatt

[stormwatch7721]

Impact! Wrestling on Spike TV, the american TV channel, has the font.

[agentsteel53]

Impact! Wrestling on Spike TV, the american TV channel, has the font.

dang, here I thought they'd use Impact! Font! (as seen on so many cat macros)

[stormwatch7721]

They only use the font on the wrestlers' names.

[mightyace]

That's funny - I used to word for Pepsi!  However I live in one of the very few regions where the Locallly Owned Bottler Organizations have been able to resist "BIG" Pepsi's mandate to drop other soda lines and still bottles 7-up.  So there is no Sierra Mist sold around here, and no marketing for it either.   So I totally missed Sierra Mist using the FHWA lettering there! 

Too bad.  Both my brother and I agree that Sierra Mist tastes more like the 7-up from the past (1970s and before) then what is actually called 7-up today.

[formulanone]

Southwest Airlines seems to be using it as well, although in their printed ads and promos in the airports.

MINI also uses it occasionally.

[national highway 1]

Here is the album cover of the deluxe edition of Flume's album 'Flume'.

[SidS1045]

WBZ-TV in Boston.
http://weather.boston.cbslocal.com/US/MA/Boston.html

Not even close.  Note particularly the 1, 2 and 3, and then compare to http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/SHSe/Alphabets.pdf , page 24.

[Zeffy]

Not even close.  Note particularly the 1, 2 and 3, and then compare to http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/SHSe/Alphabets.pdf , page 24.

I think he's referring to the 'BLUSTERY COLD' 'FILTERED SUN'... legends below the pictures of the weather. That looks to be Series E.

[Android]

Not even close.  Note particularly the 1, 2 and 3, and then compare to http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/SHSe/Alphabets.pdf , page 24.

I think that's a real-time image, not one saved from years ago when it was first posted.  I think they've changed the font in their forecast software since that was first posted.   That's why when I posted an example from the Weather Channel on the first page of this thread, it was of this "snip" I took of one of their maps - they still do use the same HG style typeface in their temperature maps, but that easily could change at any time. This is that example I posted 3+ years ago:




Compared to this much older image I just came across in my files that I took a sreensnap of 8 years ago, definitely not a highway gothic typeface in use back then!

[sammi]

Not even close.  Note particularly the 1, 2 and 3, and then compare to http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/SHSe/Alphabets.pdf , page 24.

I think he's referring to the 'BLUSTERY COLD' 'FILTERED SUN'... legends below the pictures of the weather. That looks to be Series E.

It wouldn't look right if they used a different font for that part. Also look at the M in STORM and the G in BRIGHT. Definitely not FHWA Series. I would identify it as Gotham.

[SidS1045]

Not even close.  Note particularly the 1, 2 and 3, and then compare to http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/SHSe/Alphabets.pdf , page 24.

I think he's referring to the 'BLUSTERY COLD' 'FILTERED SUN'... legends below the pictures of the weather. That looks to be Series E.

Where do you see BLUSTERY COLD or FILTERED SUN in the WBZ-TV forecast?

[Android]

Again, as I mentioned above, that is not a static, unchanging image.  The link goes to an image that gets updated regularly.  My guess is it changes at least a couple of times a day.   

I just used the Wayback Machine to get an image of what it looked like back in April 2011... back when they were still using Highway Gothic:

[sammi]

I'd say these are all more likely to be Interstate than the actual FHWA Series, except for the locomotives and probably the Weather Channel one.

Interstate was based on the FHWA Series fonts. FHWA Series was designed for readability on traffic signs (duh), but Interstate was designed for readabillity on print or screen. You can probably see it used in a lot of ads, books or magazines. So it's not likely that they'd use FHWA Series on printed material.

[Android]

I've messed with computer fonts for over 10 years and I can usually spot real Highway Gothic glyphs or not. Especially the numbers.  Many of the derivative fonts "inspired" by the FHWA typefaces don't get the numbers right, Interstate is one of them, Blue Highway and Expressway are others.  Of the images posted in this thread, I think only the nutrition facts box I posted looks like Interstate to me. The FURX railroad cars, those are real FHWA glyphs, I see those on a daily basis.

But yeah, I'm sure they didn't use official highway software fonts for these applications, but one of the derivatives out there.  Back when I first got into road sign stuff and wanted fonts with actual FHWA glyphs, I'm not using them for anything commercial and I wasn't going to pay thousands of dollars to get sign designer grade fonts.  I just wanted fonts with the real glyphs, but set up better for use on the computer.   I didn't know then about the Roadgeek fonts, so I started drawing up my own by using samples from the FHWA website.  I was only partway into the first one when I discovered the Roadgeek fonts existed.  And I ended up combining many of the Roadgeek font glyphs into my current project, because I had my kerning, ascender/descender and other font dimensions set up for what I wanted on my computer. And I kept my naming as well, putting it near the top of the alphabet so they are easy to find in a font list. 

Anyway, I like the FHWA numbers. Last year I spotted on eBay someone selling sets of vinyl 4 inch number decals that were very close to FHWA series C.  Except the company that made them has them mis-labeled as Helvetica! But my eye spotted what they really were, and I bought some.  Heck, that made me check, that person must have a whole crate of the things, they still are selling 10 and 20 packs of those numbers!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-PACKS-4-INCH-NUMBERS-STICK-ON-VINYL-BLACK-INDOOR-OUTDOOR-NEW-/281271829276?hash=item417d1b831c

[mjb2002]

I use FHWA Series D for the "Today's News Briefs" vertical logo I use on my blog. I use Series B for the horizontal version, and only if I post a photo.

[sammi]

Some of the newer TTC subway cars (the T35A08 Toronto Rocket) have Series D on them. I only know of two so far, #5783 and #5803. It uses a darker red too.



They usually use Helvetica. Sorry for the bad quality on this second one.



EDIT: I misidentified this as E.

[KEK Inc.]

Soundcloud uses it pretty extensively (here's a road related song that happens to be in my recent likes):
https://soundcloud.com/henry-krinkle/route-94-my-love-henry-krinkle

Looking at the page source, it's actually 'Interstate', which is a knock-off typeface that many magazines and web designers use.
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/fontbureau/interstate/

Pretty sure another thread is somewhere on this forum with much more content on this topic. 

[sammi]

Rule of thumb: if it's not on a road sign, it's probably Interstate. Except if it's on a rail car.

[hotdogPi]

Rule of thumb: if it's not on a road sign, it's probably Interstate. Except if it's on a rail car.

How about in the game Portal 2 (seen on first page)?

[briantroutman]

Rule of thumb: if it's not on a road sign, it's probably Interstate. Except if it's on a rail car.

I would modify that rule slightly to say that layouts composed entirely on a computer (such as a print layout, website graphics, TV graphics, etc.) are likely Interstate or some other knock-off, but lettering that is adhered or stenciled manually is likely drawn from FHWA alphabets.

Many adhesive lettering manufacturers (whose products have been widely used by railroads, trucking companies, utility companies, etc.) have long used FHWA letter and number shapes because the full specs are publicly available in the Standard Sign Alphabets guidebook, and they're not protected by any intellectual property restrictions.

[formulanone]

Okay, but can we still get excited over them, or do we have to temper our enthusiasm? Close enough, in my opinion.

[sammi]

can we still get excited over them

Of course. It's not like it's Arialveticverstesk or anything.

[J N Winkler]

Many adhesive lettering manufacturers (whose products have been widely used by railroads, trucking companies, utility companies, etc.) have long used FHWA letter and number shapes because the full specs are publicly available in the Standard Sign Alphabets guidebook, and they're not protected by any intellectual property restrictions.

I wonder if they are also relying on the FAA circular that deals with airfield signing and marking, which specifies Series D for upright signs next to taxiways.  Series D is used for this purpose internationally--it is only recently that I have seen departures such as Britain using Transport for this purpose at one of the London airports (Gatwick?).