I’ve always been proud of our British road signage and still don’t know why we need sat navs. They are just annoying and very often inaccurate. I’ve been led up farm tracks and across fords, when there was a perfectly good parallel road. What’s wrong with a map and a brain when we have such simple, clear signs?
I was delighted to read the article on the BBC website about the designers of the road network signs, Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert. They straightened up the mess of Britain’s 1950s system and turned it into a design classic, producing two new typefaces, Transport and Motorway.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15990443
I can’t think of anywhere in the world, apart from those European countries who also use Transport, where road signs are as effective. Calvert’s and Kinneir’s were purposely made to stand out and be practical. This has worked well over the last 50 years; how often have you stopped to admire a road sign?
Well, you might now, so be careful…
sophieduffy 