San Francisco Street Signs Get a Makeover
Ive got a slideshow at the bottom of the post showing all of the individual street signs in better detail, for those of you that want to obsess about kerning, pixels, and other fine points of graphic design.
My first impression was that the signs somehow looked cheaper. I think it was all the extra white space on the signs, like we couldn’t afford letters that were big enough for the sign. But the more I’ve stared at the new and old San Francisco street signs side-by-side, the more the new look grows on me. While at first it felt too timid, it now just seems like a more polite sign since the letters aren’t screaming in all caps.
I spotted these signs in Forest Hill Extension while on broker’s tour today, but I’m curious where else people have been seeing them? Is there an orderly city-wide rollout of new signs? Or will they be replaced as needed, methodically rolled out over time? I’m really hoping we get new signs everywhere – and soon – not because I’m wild about the new sign, but just because seeing both old and new next to other really bothers me!
Any sign experts out there? I’m curious about what goes into sign design. Safety, readability, tradition… how did it all come together for the new San Francisco street sign? Anyone that knows anything about the backstory on our signs, I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment or get in touch.
Additional pictures of new and old San Francisco street signs:
[portfolio_slideshow width=640 showcaps=true navpos=bottom pagerpos=bottom pagerstyle=carousel click=lightbox centered=true]
Seems like a huge expense not worth pain for at this time in the economy. They’ve been changing the signs here in Portland, OR too.
Blame it on the Boomers and Washington. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-10-21-road-signs-all-caps-lowercase_N.htm
Does that mean you’ll be changing your logo or staying old school? I say keep it status quo.
We’re totally keeping it old school!
I saw this abomination today at Hyde and Pacific.
http://instagr.am/p/Jxi4RFh76b/
http://instagr.am/p/JxjCHAB76g/
I don’t know what’s going on at the city’s sign shop these days, but this is a disaster.
It’s the new sign style whether we like it or not… I’ve seen a bunch more around town!
Just noticed these along Laguna Honda last night. My first impression is not favorable; I do like the look of the all-caps fonts, though I think in some cases, like Noe St., the signs look a little silly with the words being centered. I do find that the capital letters are a bit more clear and easier to read. There has been a bit of a controversy about this in Boston lately, though signage in Boston is far more inconsistent (you’re lucky if there’s a sign at a given intersection at all, actually) in general. http://www.universalhub.com/2012/citizen-complaint-day-crisis-font-south-end
I noticed new signs in my neighborhood. They look awful, particularly on signs with shorter names – too much blank white space and hard to read. Whoever authorized the new look should be fired.
Phil – I’ve actually been trying to find someone at the city department in charge of signs that would talk to me about why they made the change, how they picked the font, etc. I haven’t found that person yet, but it’s on the list…
It appears they’re doing this in New York also…
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/million_kuj8X4Z2VolVhXnCymfkvM
Gerry,
Thanks for the nypost link!
- M
This is not just in San Francisco and it’s not just in New York. It’s all around the country. All the street sign designs that are unique to local municipalities will soon be near-uniform, as they will all have the same Clearview typeface and be on one of just a few colour backgrounds. I like the typeface, but I mourn the individuality of each of the cities’ signs. San Francisco had some great ones in particular.
Peter – Yep, you are correct. I hadn’t realized that it was a highway bill that was driving all of this, but as you and the last commenter pointed out, that is indeed the case. I did a little reading about clearview, the whole project seems rooted in a good idea (easier to read signs) but I agree with you that it comes at the cost of losing some unique sign styles… Welcome to Clearview, like it or not!