Should the lowercase 'q' on highway signs be changed?

[bandit957]

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.

[Brandon]

No, as the lowercase 'q' is like this in most fonts.

[DTComposer]

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.

[slorydn1]

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?

[Scott5114]

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.

[CtrlAltDel]

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.

[myosh_tino]

I did the same as CtrlAltDel but using the proper font (E-modified)...



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!

[Brandon]

^^ Reminds me too much of...

[Quillz]

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.

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.

[spooky]

That looks awful and would be too easily confused with a lowercase "o".

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.

[Kacie Jane]

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.

[Scott5114]

Here's what you get when you take the descender of a 'g' and flip it around into a 'q'...

[TrevorB]

That doesn't look as bad as I thought it would...

[DaBigE]

^^ Reminds me too much of...

EXACTLY. That was the first thing that came to my mind.

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'?

[CtrlAltDel]

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:

[jeffandnicole]

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.

[odditude]

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)