typography show and tell

My first item for show and tell is an example of typography gone wrong. This postcard features four typefaces. The text is set with drop shadows, outlines, gradients, italics, and multiple colors. Some text is also tilted. Overall, it is just a mess.



My second item is an article from the September/October issue of good. It describes a Federal Highway Administration project to improve legibility of road signs and increase driver reaction time by switching to a new typeface. This typeface is more legible, so the signs can be read from farther away without increasing their size.

Typography is one of the most important choices in sign-making. The wrong typeface could make signs unusable. I often find it interesting to think about the standard typefaces used in federal and state signage on roads. Now I know that a lot of research goes into choosing the face for signs.