Clearview Is Back as the Font of Choice for Highway Signs

An overlooked feature of the federal omnibus bill approved earlier this year: a return to the Clearview font for highway traffic signs.

1 minute read

May 6, 2018, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Bay Area Highway

So long Highway Gothic. We hardly knew you. | Sundry Photography / Shutterstock

Joy Powell reports: "A font designed for easy reading on state highway traffic signs has been reinstated following the passage of the federal omnibus bill, according to the American Traffic Safety Services Association."

The bill effectively directs the Federal Highway Administration to "issue interim approval for the Clearview font." The rule change effectively rescinds a change announced in 2016, which Planetizen reported at the time had "ruffled feathers."

While this article was reported in early April, the news about Clearview's comeback made traction this week thanks to a tweet from 2016 that has been recirculating on social media and also helpfully illustrates the differences between Clearview and the short-lived Highway Gothic.

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