- Kindersley alphabet c1955/7
- Kindersley road signs comparison
Some more Kindersley alphabets
Moderator: Site Management Team
Some more Kindersley alphabets
David Kindersley's 1950s work on MOT lettering, the proposed changes leading up to Clavert & Kinnear's Transport typeface as well as local street name plates has been touched on here in various threads. Here's a couple of images of his proposed serif capital letters and a comparison of a sign as seen in the 1989 book on his work. Better scans can be seen here; https://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@ ... 1886573981
Re: Some more Kindersley alphabets
That’s very interesting. I’ve never seen the Kindersley alphabet (apart from the one used on street signs) close to. It also proves that it’s entirely unique from the other one (on the street signs).
Kindersley claimed that making the name of the town or city the same size as the road number made recognition easier for drivers. I’m not sure I agree, as every typographical article or person I’ve spoken to suggests the opposite - look at the Transport example mock-up comparison.
However, it might’ve worked if the map was made a little larger, and the x-heights/point sizes changed to match the Transport version. Perhaps better for local destinations, so it looks rather different??
Coincidentally, when I was in New Zealand, you would see the occasional sign in Transport, but it tended to be for more local stuff (such as parking restrictions, footpaths, or local signage) as they never adopted it over there. When you did see the odd State Highway sign also in Transport (very rare), it looked rather strange indeed.
Kindersley claimed that making the name of the town or city the same size as the road number made recognition easier for drivers. I’m not sure I agree, as every typographical article or person I’ve spoken to suggests the opposite - look at the Transport example mock-up comparison.
However, it might’ve worked if the map was made a little larger, and the x-heights/point sizes changed to match the Transport version. Perhaps better for local destinations, so it looks rather different??
Coincidentally, when I was in New Zealand, you would see the occasional sign in Transport, but it tended to be for more local stuff (such as parking restrictions, footpaths, or local signage) as they never adopted it over there. When you did see the odd State Highway sign also in Transport (very rare), it looked rather strange indeed.