Interstate (typeface)

Interstate is a digital <a href="/facts/Typeface/It41hIjl">typeface</a> designed by <a href="/facts/Tobias_Frere-Jones/sCHHAMaz">Tobias Frere-Jones</a> between 1993 and 1999. Originally developed for Font Bureau foundry, it's been owned and licensed by <a href="/facts/Frere-Jones_Type/sCHHAMaz">Frere-Jones Type</a> since 2020. The typeface is based on the <a href="/facts/Highway_Gothic/kk6bTzen">FHWA series of fonts</a>, a series of signage alphabets drawn for the <a href="/facts/Federal_Highway_Administration/NlxY1qzR">Federal Highway Administration</a> by Dr. Theodore W. Forbes in 1949, assisted by J.E. Penton and E.E. Radek.
While optimal for <a href="/facts/Signage/PCASIAP3">signage</a>, Interstate has refinements making it suitable for text setting in print and on-screen, and gained popularity as such in the 1990s. Due to its wide spacing, it is best suited for display usage in print.
The terminals of ascending and descending strokes are cut at an angle to the stroke (see lowercase "t" and "l"), and on curved strokes (see lowercase "e" and "s"), terminals are drawn at a 90° angle to the stroke, positioning them at an angle to the baseline. <a href="/facts/Counter_(typography)/0r1EPek6">Counters</a> are open, even in the bold and bold condensed weights, further contributing to <a href="/facts/Legibility/0kmQh9US">legibility</a>. <a href="/facts/Punctuation/YsE7u4W6">Punctuation</a> is based on a rectangular shape, while official FHWA punctuation is based on a circular shape. <a href="https://www.mistraurbanfutures.org/sites/mistraurbanfutures.org/files/annex_6_-_visual_identity_en.pdf">[1]</a>
Since 2011, Interstate has been held in the <a href="/facts/Permanent_collection/Yeym08X8">permanent collection</a> of <a href="/facts/Museum_of_Modern_Art/75lxKjfj">Museum of Modern Art</a> (MoMA) in New York.

Interstate (typeface) open-in-new

Interstate (typeface)