Highway Gothic Font is a sans-serif typeface that can be seen clearly and fast while driving at high speeds was made by the United States Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for road signs. This font is also known as FHWA Series or Standard Alphabets for Highway Signs. Many other countries use this typeface for road signs.
Features of Highway Gothic Font
Dr. Theodore Forbes designed Highway Gothic, with the help of J.E. Penton and E.E. Radek, in the late 1940s. The typefaces were officially defined by the FHWA’s Standard Alphabets for Traffic-Control Devices, originally published in 1948, and revised in 1952, 1966, 1977, and 20001. Some letter shapes changed in the 2000 specifications compared to older ones. The 2000 specifications also added lowercase letters to all alphabet series.
Highway Gothic consists of six fonts: “A” (the narrowest), “B”, “C”, “D”, “E”, “E (M)” (a modified version of “E” with wider strokes), and “F” (the widest). At first, the typeface only had uppercase letters, except for “E (M).” This letter was different and used for big signs on expressways and freeways. The typeface has a distinctive and eye-catching look that attracts attention and conveys direction and authority. This Highway Gothic font is free to download and use.
Variants and Alternatives
Highway Gothic is a font family, each with different widths and weights. They are:
- Highway Gothic: This is the standard style of the font family. It has a medium width and weight, and it is the most commonly used style for road signs. It has a sans-serif design that is easy to read at a distance and at high speed.
- Highway Gothic Condensed: This is a bold and condensed style of the font family. It has a narrow width and a heavyweight, and it is used for road signs that have limited space or need to emphasize certain words. It has a sans-serif design that is similar to Highway Gothic but with tighter letter spacing.
- Highway Gothic Expanded: This is a wide and expanded style of the font family. It has a wide width and a lightweight, and it is used for road signs that have ample space or need to create a sense of openness. It has a sans-serif design that is similar to Highway Gothic but with wider letter spacing.
- Highway Gothic Narrow: This is a narrow version of the standard style of the font family. It has a narrow width and a medium weight, and it is used for road signs that have limited space or need to fit more words. It has a sans-serif design that is similar to Highway Gothic but with slightly thinner strokes.
- Highway Gothic Wide: This is a wide version of the standard style of the font family. It has a wide width and a medium weight, and it is used for road signs that have ample space or need to create a sense of spaciousness. It has a sans-serif design that is similar to Highway Gothic but with slightly thicker strokes.
Effective is Highway Gothic Font?
Highway Gothic font is an excellent choice for creating designs inspired by road signs or has a transportation theme. You can use this font for various purposes, such as logos, headlines, posters, banners, flyers, invitations, cards, labels, stickers, signs, and more. The font is also compatible with different media and platforms. You can use it for print or digital projects, such as websites, apps, games, videos, animations, etc.
Highway Gothic font has been tested and proven to be effective in terms of legibility and readability at a distance and at high speed. According to a study by the Texas Transportation Institute in 1998, the Highway Gothic font had better legibility than other fonts at night under retroreflective conditions. However, some critics argue that the font has some flaws that reduce its legibility. These flaws include inconsistent letter spacing, excessive stroke contrast, and ambiguous letter shapes.
Highway Gothic Font Generator
For those interested in experimenting with Highway Gothic font in their designs, our Highway Gothic Font Generator is a must-try tool. Just type in your text, select the font size and color and customize it by adjusting the background color.
Explore Other Fonts
If you like the Highway Gothic font but want to explore other options with a similar vibe or style, you can check out these fonts below:
We chose these fonts because they are related to highway gothic in name or are very good quality fonts.
Conclusion
Highway Gothic font is a classic typeface developed by the United States Federal Highway Administration for use on road signs. It was designed to be easily and quickly readable while driving at high speeds. It has a distinctive and eye-catching look that attracts attention and provides direction. And best of all, you can download Highway Gothic for free.
We hope you enjoyed this article about the font and learned something new about this amazing typeface. If you have questions or feedback about this article or our website, please contact us or leave a comment below. If you are looking for similar looking fonts then try out Klavika, Corbel, Glacial Indifference, and calibre fonts now.
Thank you for reading!