Johnston Sans: The Tube typeface that changed everything

bbc.co.uk

56 points·Jaruzel··4 comments

> "Having the serifs on makes things more difficult to read, there's more for the eye to take on," says Steel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif#Readability_and_legibili...

> Serifed fonts are widely used for body text because they are considered easier to read than sans-serif fonts in print. However, scientific study on this topic has been inconclusive.

I don't think that's a contradiction - I'd guess that sans serif is indeed much easier to read specifically on signs.

When the UK designed its road/motorway signs they conducted all kinds of usability studies and ended up designing the Transport typeface; just about any country I've been to in Europe uses sans typefaces for roadsigns and station/tube/airport signs.

The jury may well still be out for body text in books and other publications. That's not the problem Johnston was asked to solve though.

The US (and most of North America, it seems) also use sans serif road signs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_Gothic

> However, scientific study on this topic has been inconclusive.

I remember reading of a study comparison that found that in the USA, where serif fonts are the norm, that serif fonts are more legible. In Europe, where sans-serif if more common, sans-serif was found to be more legible.

So, yeah, you get good at what you practice.

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