What’s in a Font?

It is a fact that is commonly overlooked: a large amount of thought often goes into designing the fonts that we read on road signs every day, in order for the information displayed to be easily legible to drivers. In recent years, however, shortcomings of these fonts have emerged. Their inadequacy to the country’s aging population, an ever-growing group that struggles to make out the text on the signs, is of particular concern to certain experts. For this reason, a design team has embarked on a project to revamp existing fonts, making small modifications that would initially seem imperceptible but end up enhancing the visibility of information to the tired eye. This slideshow by the New York Times shows us how changing demographics may lead us to undertake ever more measures to transform elements of our everyday lives, even when it comes to something as ubiquitous as road signs.