The Clearview thread

[agentsteel53]

the Georgia signs definitely use a thinner stroke ... and also, some glyphs are narrower.  the "n" is especially narrow on the photo compared to the mockup.

I do not know whether this means Georgia deviates from FHWA standard, or if Roadgeek does.

[Android]

Here's another Wyoming Clearview replacement - one that I'd been expecting ever since I saw it had gotten damaged some time ago.  The previous sign was one of those that WYDOT put up in 2001 with some stretched mixed-case letters. 

Before:

Now:

[Quillz]

That looks much better. The old sign had way too much spacing between the letters, and the type was too thin. This is an example of how Clearview can improve old signage, under certain circumstances.

[Brandon]

That looks much better. The old sign had way too much spacing between the letters, and the type was too thin. This is an example of how Clearview can improve old signage, under certain circumstances.

Not so sure it's the font so much as the kerning.

[Quillz]

If the kerning was left alone, then the sign probably could have fit Series D on there. When using a thin font like B or C, the kerning shouldn't be that wide, it makes the sign hard to read.

[Android]

And here's yet another Wyoming Clearview replacement.  There's tons of examples I could come up with, I'm only posting ones that show something I think is notable or unexpected.   Earlier on I mentioned how the gore sign for NB Exit 25 (I-25) had been replaced a few times and turned in to Clearview, only to get changed back to Series E.  I still don't know why, that exit does not see much traffic at all.   Well, it's not the only one, I spotted this fresh 2011 sign earlier today for the MUCH busier NB Exit 7 in Cheyenne.  I got a photo of it, then I looked to see if I had any pics in my archives of the what it looked like after they resigned that whole stretch a few years back in CV, and I did.  

I'd like to know how the sign shop for WYDOT functions.  There's just no rhyme or reason when it comes to how they are signing the Interstates.

[roadfro]

^ I'd like to know who designs these signs for WyDOT... I think I've mentioned this before, but the design of those exit signs is hideous--horrible layout and wrong arrow.

[hbelkins]

What's wrong with the arrow?

[agentsteel53]

What's wrong with the arrow?

my guess is "too big".  seems like it's squeezed into all the available space.  making it 80% as big as it is now would, I think, aid recognition from a distance of both the arrow and the word EXIT.

[Scott5114]

No, it's that it should be a Type A arrow–tapered shaft. The straight-shaft arrow is usually intended for things like being stuck next to one-line destinations on conventional road signage, where the tapered shaft arrow wouldn't work. (And usually doesn't have a shaft that long in those instances.)

[Android]

I'm so used to them that I don't even notice the arrows.  Looking through my photos though I found this one a few miles up was the only one like it I've seen... mini-arrow.

[J N Winkler]

Wyoming DOT doesn't do all of its signing in-house (i.e., at a departmental sign shop)--some of it is contracted out.  However, signing plans are developed in-house.  In the latest Wyoming DOT pure sign replacement contract, I804254 (advertised August 2011 and covering I-80 between Exits 187 and 290), a mixture of Clearview and Series E Modified is used even on new installations.  The one thing that is consistent is that arrows with untapered shafts are always used even in contexts where Type A arrows would be preferred, such as gore signs, exit direction signs, conventional-road guide signs where the arrow is on its own line, etc.

In general, Wyoming DOT signing plans are pattern-accurate but consist just of sign layout sheets--no sign design sheets.  I presume that sign shop drawings are generated prior to fabrication and in principle this affords an opportunity for last-minute changes, but it sounds like conditions in the field match the contract plans fairly closely as regards typeface and arrow usage.

This is a typical Wyoming DOT sign layout sheet.

[roadfro]

What's wrong with the arrow?

Scott nailed it. Instead of using a Type A arrow (tapered shaft arrow typical for exit direction signs and exit gore signs) or even a Type B arrow (shorter tapered shaft arrow suggested for certain exit direction sign usages), they've used an oversized Type D arrow (meant for conventional roads).

The use of a particular type of arrow in the MUTCD is guidance, not standard (except for certain restrictions on the down and angle arrows). So it's not technically wrong...but it looks wrong to me...

[Scott5114]

I just got glasses for the first time ever. I can see signs in any font perfectly clearly now, which makes me wonder really why we're bothering with Clearview when better glasses would probably fix the problem for most people.

[1995hoo]

I just got glasses for the first time ever. I can see signs in any font perfectly clearly now, which makes me wonder really why we're bothering with Clearview when better glasses would probably fix the problem for most people.

I got glasses two years ago (made me feel old!) but I find the Clearview signs are still easier to read at a distance than the old ones. The characters seem better-defined. But some Clearview signs are definitely ugly, no doubt about it.

[jdb1234]

Here's one from Alabama:

[txstateends]

In that AL sign, is the spacing between the 2 green control points all right, or should they be separated slightly (vertically spaced, I mean)?  Just to the first glance, they look a bit close; but otherwise overall the sign looks all right.

[vtk]

In that AL sign, is the spacing between the 2 green control points all right, or should they be separated slightly (vertically spaced, I mean)?  Just to the first glance, they look a bit close; but otherwise overall the sign looks all right.

I think there should probably be a little more space (maybe an inch more? not sure how big the sign actually is) between the bottom two lines, but the error is not of great magnitude.

[CentralCAroadgeek]

Sorry to be reviving, but I'd like to share some Clearview street signage from my area.

In Salinas:


In Monterey:


I particularly like the Monterey example better, because the "Ave." part of the sign is in a smaller font than the street name, which I really like.

In my opinion, I actually like Clearview. I actually enjoy seeing Clearview out there.

EDIT: There was also this "Your Speed" sign in my neighborhood that wasn't up for long, and it's also in Clearview.

[1995hoo]

Reviving this thread because I thought it more appropriate than starting a new one. Don't know why I've never noticed this before, but it sure looks to me as though the font used by our DirecTV DVRs is some version of Clearview–with the exception of the "1" because Clearview doesn't have the horizontal bottom on that number–or else something extremely similar. In this picture I find it noticeable primarily in the word "Dallas."

Compare to the font samples here. Clearview 6-W strikes me as being very close to what DirecTV's using.

[kphoger]

That looks similiar to the Trebuchet font, but not exactly.

[KEVIN_224]

Speaking of other fonts on roadway signs, both BGS signs on gantries and LGS signs on the shoulders: What would the font be on the Merritt Parkway (CT Route 15), between Greenwich and Stratford, CT? Signs with this type of lettering do not appear in the rest of the state. Here's an example:

http://goo.gl/maps/IG9z

This is the first overhead gantry along CT Route 15 in Stratford, just after the Merritt Parkway started on the Sikorsky Bridge behind the camera.

[Central Avenue]

Speaking of other fonts on roadway signs, both BGS signs on gantries and LGS signs on the shoulders: What would the font be on the Merritt Parkway (CT Route 15), between Greenwich and Stratford, CT? Signs with this type of lettering do not appear in the rest of the state. Here's an example:

http://goo.gl/maps/IG9z

That would be ITC Stone Sans, I believe.

[Anonymity Lane]

I looked at the other versions of full-width Clearview (ClearviewText and ClearviewADA) and they weren't exact matches; it's possible that it's custom-made for DirecTV. (I tried running it through WhatTheFont: http://www.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/, but that didn't help. Maybe I could try the forum aspect of it.)

[BigMattFromTexas]

Holy piss.  I can't believe two things.. 1) My illiteracy when this was first posted.... 2) That I liked Clearview!? Maybe the more I saw it, and more I saw Highway Gothic, I came to my senses. Now I can't stand the sight of Clearview..
BigMatt