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While this won’t be news to everyone, I thought that discussing the new official Interstate highway typeface before so many people get in their cars and drive to family gatherings would be fitting. After years of road signs being set in Highway Gothic, the Federal Highway Administration gave the typeface Clearview interim approval in 2004. Since then, more than 20 states have begun using Clearview on new signs when their predecessors wear out.

The New York Times Magazine article that extensively covered this subtle transformation also chronicles the history of highway signage. It also notes that Clearview is the typeface used in AT&T’s new brand identity.

After driving around America this summer and fall, I noticed many new signs set in Clearview. I must admit that the typeface delivers on its name. However, from an aesthetic point of view, I feel like Clearview reflects a design process that was a little more science than art. Form has followed function. You won’t hear any argument from Mr. Louis Sullivan (and not just because he is dead).

My quibble with Clearview has little to do with the face itself and more with the popularity and misuse of the face that I anticipate. I think that Clearview could be the new Verdana — a typeface created for optimal readability in a specific context then used to debatable effect in many unintended contexts. Maybe I’m just being Mr. Glass Half Empty.

Decide what you think as you make your way to and from gatherings this coming holiday season. It might make those miles between your home and your loved ones’ homes a little more interesting. Car bingo? Road sign typefaces? Car bingo? Road sign typefaces? Hmmmm…

Via The New York Times Magazine. Via our very own Cindy Coakes.