Da mesma forma com que foram definidas as cores e os formatos, foram também definido um tipo padrão de letra para serem empregadas nas placas de rua.

Obviamente, devemos levar em consideração que o alfabeto romano, esse que a gente conhece não é conhecido nem de longe em certos países. Então, querer ter um único padrão de letra é um exagero.

O padrão para o tipo de letra adotado pela Convenção Internacional de Trânsito é a fonte HELVÉTICA, que tem o seguinte aspecto:

About the Font Developed and continuously refined by the Haas’sche Schriftgiesserei AG and then D. Stempel AG, both fully owned subsidiaries of Linotype. The key design concepts were drawn by Max Miedinger in 1957. Apple and Adobe later obtained the licenses from Linotype for the Neue Helvetica® font, which is still one of the most popular typefaces worldwide. The font Helvetica® (Latin for Swiss) has the objective and functional style which was associated with Swiss typography in the 1950s and 1960s. The font is perfect for international correspondence: no ornament, no emotion, just clear presentation of information. Helvetica font is still one of most popular sans-serif fonts. Helvetica font, the typeface par excellence, can look back on a colorful life. Originally designed for hand composition, it has been adapted over the years for all methods of composition: from hot metal line composition, and opto-mechanical phototypesetting of the first generation, to digital typesetters. The font Helvetica combines well with: Fonts with Old Face proportions, like Palatino®, Trump Mediaeval™, Versailles™, Wilke™. Fonts with Modern Face proportions, like Linotype Centennial®, Walbaum. Slab serif fonts like Egyptienne F™, Rockwell™ Script. Brush fonts like Brush Script, Ruling Script™, Salto™. Black letters like Duc de Berry™, Wittenberger Fraktur™. Fun fonts like Linotype Animalia™, Linotype Red Babe™, Linotype Seven™, Linotype Sjablony™. As times change, the technical requirements change that must be met by a typeface. There is also a change in what we may consider to be the beauty and suitability of a typeface. To meet these requirements and conform to the tastes of a new generation of type users, Linotype presented the "Neue Helvetica".

Fonte: http://www.linotype.com/188/aboutthefont.html

RMW\narua\placa05.htm em 12/06/2009, atualizado em 06/07/2009.