Wayfinding Sans Pro
FDI Type Foundry · Ralf Herrmann, Sebastian Nagel · 2012
A signage-specific sans by Ralf Herrmann, developed through field studies across dozens of countries and empirically validated against Frutiger, DIN 1451 and Johnston Underground in independent legibility testing.
About
Designed after Herrmann drove tens of thousands of miles studying road signage typefaces internationally, Wayfinding Sans Pro was built using custom real-time simulation software that modelled distance, fog, halation and contrast conditions during the actual drawing process. An independent study at the htw Berlin found the Bold Extended style significantly more legible than Frutiger, Futura, DIN 1451 and Johnston Underground in sign-reading conditions. Twenty styles with Latin Extended, Basic Cyrillic and Basic Greek support make it viable for international signage projects, and it is in active use at El Dorado International Airport, Metro Rio and the Indonesian Railway Company.
Classification
A clean, modern sans-serif optimised for signage legibility, drawing on humanist principles of letter differentiation and open apertures rather than the neutrality of a grotesque or geometry of a geometric sans.