I just thought of something that might improve legibility of mixed-case highway fonts.
I think the shape of the lowercase 'q' should be changed to a miniature of the capital 'Q' - just like how some other letters do. I think this is much more readable than the lowercase 'q' with the long tail.
No, as the lowercase 'q' is like this in most fonts.
I can see the potential for confusing q and g at highway speed on their own. That said, I think the relative infrequency of the letter q (second-least used letter in English), plus it nearly always being followed by u, plus context, make this not a huge issue.
If you do want to modify it, a miniature version of Q might not help, for at highway speed it could be mistaken for lower-case o. A better solution might be to just add the right-facing hook off the descender.
It kinda seems like a solution looking for a problem.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.711134,-78.843752,3a,75y,57.74h,75.67t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sgZtVgPM7hNI-cGajzSGHCg!2e0?hl=en
I mean, is one really going to mistake Fuquay-Varina for Fuguay-Varina, especially if they already know the name of the town (or street) that they are looking for?
Quote from: DTComposer on June 03, 2015, 05:53:39 PM
If you do want to modify it, a miniature version of Q might not help, for at highway speed it could be mistaken for lower-case o. A better solution might be to just add the right-facing hook off the descender.
This is a feature of Clearview. Didn't help ODOT though; they put up one sign for 'Prague' that spelled it 'Praque'.
The FHWA Series q has a diagonally-sloping descender that helps to distinguish it from the g.
Here's a side-by-side comparison I drew up. The new "Q" looks a bit weird in context, but it could be something that I could get used to. Still, though, I don't think that the new "Q" is a good idea because of all the studies that show that mixed case text is easier to read than all capitals.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi58.tinypic.com%2Fkf4l7r.png&hash=f99fd4f03938f51e069b8910bf53a97b80497ae4)
I did the same as CtrlAltDel but using the proper font (E-modified)...
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markyville.com%2Faaroads%2Fq-drawing.png&hash=df66416362a77999282c5abfbc1dec34bf1c94bc)
My only worry is that I think the upper-case Q might be mistaken for an "o".
Note: just noticed the stroke width on the "Q" isn't right which is what happens when you simply reduce the font size of the "Q"... oops!
^^ Reminds me too much of...
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F7%2F7c%2FUS_69_Craig_Co.jpg%2F800px-US_69_Craig_Co.jpg&hash=3a61ef8cc0889e688b1a4fafd1cef1536521df38)
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 04, 2015, 01:09:40 PM
Here's a side-by-side comparison I drew up. The new "Q" looks a bit weird in context, but it could be something that I could get used to. Still, though, I don't think that the new "Q" is a good idea because of all the studies that show that mixed case text is easier to read than all capitals.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi58.tinypic.com%2Fkf4l7r.png&hash=f99fd4f03938f51e069b8910bf53a97b80497ae4)
I think that looks awful, actually. The lowercase "q" is much better.
And as stated earlier, "q" isn't a very common letter. I don't think legibility is a major issue with it.
That looks awful and would be too easily confused with a lowercase "o".
Quote from: DTComposer on June 03, 2015, 05:53:39 PM
I can see the potential for confusing q and g at highway speed on their own. That said, I think the relative infrequency of the letter q (second-least used letter in English), plus it nearly always being followed by u, plus context, make this not a huge issue.
If you do want to modify it, a miniature version of Q might not help, for at highway speed it could be mistaken for lower-case o. A better solution might be to just add the right-facing hook off the descender.
Completely agree on both points.
Yeah, there's no reason to change. Q would be just as easily confused with o as q is with g, so it solves nothing. And I don't think this "confusion" causes any problems in context, as no driver in their right mind is going to be too horribly confused if they misread a sign as Martinigue (or Martinioue) instead of Martinique at first.
Here's what you get when you take the descender of a 'g' and flip it around into a 'q'...
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fqf6m7ZF.png&hash=b40735aae0c837025a0522e01eaab2b0ef6c73f8)
That doesn't look as bad as I thought it would...
Quote from: Brandon on June 04, 2015, 02:50:53 PM
^^ Reminds me too much of...
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F7%2F7c%2FUS_69_Craig_Co.jpg%2F800px-US_69_Craig_Co.jpg&hash=3a61ef8cc0889e688b1a4fafd1cef1536521df38)
EXACTLY. That was the first thing that came to my mind.
Quote from: Quillz on June 04, 2015, 05:04:15 PM
I think that looks awful, actually. The lowercase "q" is much better.
And as stated earlier, "q" isn't a very common letter. I don't think legibility is a major issue with it.
Agree 1000%.
Even though I don't think the lowercase 'q' is an issue, just for kicks and grins, what if you attached the hook from the bottom of a lowercase 't' to the decender of the 'q'?
Quote from: DaBigE on June 05, 2015, 02:10:03 AM
Even though I don't think the lowercase 'q' is an issue, just for kicks and grins, what if you attached the hook from the bottom of a lowercase 't' to the decender of the 'q'?
Here you go:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi57.tinypic.com%2F2u72ba1.png&hash=93dbe1085680dc02b7bc004e30de241dd8a66caf)
If I was in an unfamiliar area, I would be seeing "Martin..." and pretty much know that's the exit I want, regardless if it's Martinique Rd or Martinigue Rd.
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 05, 2015, 02:39:07 AM
Quote from: DaBigE on June 05, 2015, 02:10:03 AM
Even though I don't think the lowercase 'q' is an issue, just for kicks and grins, what if you attached the hook from the bottom of a lowercase 't' to the decender of the 'q'?
Here you go:
[snipped images]
it's cute, but complicates automated layout (see: many Clearview disasters)