I suspect that the reason behind some of Highway Gothic's quirks (like that "g" that drives Funnyguts mad) is that, until the late '90s or so, signage was often done in button copy, and the letters had to be able to accommodate the reflectors.
Of course, that explanation only works for Series E Modified, as Series B-F didn't have lowercase alphabets until 2000.
Heapers’ HangoutHmm, I wonder when Colorado stopped using button copy (assuming they used it at all, which it appears they did
.)
Ohio was among the last states to discontinue button copy, so it's still pretty common to find them here. (Though ODOT has vowed to replace them all within the next few years)
Heapers’ HangoutSo it now occurs to me that Highway Gothic may not have been designed with legibility in mind at all. And yet DIN 1451 was, no wonder it's so clean and modern even though it's from the forties, grumble grumble...
Also why in fuck do I keep listening to "Sweet Punch" on a loop?
edited 2nd Mar '11 11:14:39 PM by AnonymousUser
So, Gotham vs. Verlag. They come from the same foundry, and they're both geometric sans-serifs.
Gotham is stricter in its geometry than Verlag, which is intentionally more humanistic in places. Gotham has a larger x-height, more weights, and four widths, while Verlag has three. But, most importantly, Gotham has become a "workhorse" and ascended to ubiquity, while Verlag just hangs around.
The big question is, why the fuck am I typing this?
The other main problem with Highway Gothic in modern times is the "overglow" effect
◊—when printed on modern Very Reflective sheeting, the light from a car's headlights makes the letters halo-y and hard to read. This was one of the issues that ClearviewHwy was designed to fix.
edited 2nd Mar '11 11:22:35 PM by CentralAvenue
Heapers’ HangoutI could see an over-glow effect, given how much thinner the weight of ClearviewHwy used on most road signs seems to be than the only weight of Highway Gothic.
Also, you know what? I can't really tell the difference between ClearviewHwy, ClearviewText
and ClearviewADA.
See, now you've got me thinking...I wonder if the over-glow effect would be lessened by using plain Series E instead of Series E Modified.
Granted, it's a moot point, as neither one would be as legible as Clearview, but I'm curious.
Heapers’ HangoutYou shouldn't do that. After all, clock towers get struck by lightning!
(I was worried that counts as a spoiler, but I remembered it's established in the first few minutes of the movie.)
Heapers’ HangoutOr on a clock face.
Oh, great, now I'm tempted to make a pop-up book about a city in proximity to a huge clock tower.
*adds this to the Pile O' Ideas*

Having a wart on your toe sucks. At least the others that populated my foot went away a couple years ago.
edit: fuck you typos.
edited 2nd Mar '11 10:53:24 PM by Jumpingzombie