Interstate is a digital typeface designed by Tobias Frere-Jones between 1993 and 1999, originally for Font Bureau and now licensed by Frere-Jones Type. It draws inspiration from the FHWA series of fonts created for the Federal Highway Administration in 1949. While optimized for signage, Interstate’s open counters and angled terminals enhance its legibility, making it popular for print and screen use. Its punctuation features a rectangular shape distinct from FHWA’s circular style. Recognized for its design, Interstate has been part of the permanent collection at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) since 2011. [1]
Usage of the typeface
Interstate's popularity in 1990s10 and 2000s led to it being called "ubiquitous",11 "familiar",12 "classic", and "iconic".131415 It has been referred to as "one of the most popular faces of the 90s" by Communication Arts.16
The font is used by a number of large organizations in their logotypes and branding materials. Notable examples include Citigroup (Citibank),171819 and Sainsbury's supermarkets, as well as signage for Southwest Airlines, Invesco, UK rail company c2c, Ealing / Hammersmith / West London College, Trinity College London, Lamborghini,20 Cognizant, SoundCloud,21 and CISV. It is also used for the logo of the Spanish social-democratic party PSOE.
Interstate is used for signage at Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal in New York City.2223
In 2004, The Weather Channel started using the fonts on-air and on IntelliStar systems. It was added to TWC's WeatherSTAR XL in a graphical update in 2005. It was mainly retired in 2008, for Helvetica Neue and Akzidenz-Grotesk; however, the font continued to be used on IntelliStar systems until November 2013, as part of a rebranding.
On January 29, 2005, the Indonesian television broadcaster SCTV used a modified version of Interstate in the "SCTV" lettermark, while initially using the typeface as its branding font for its programming promotion. However, in subsequent years, the font for SCTV's programming promotion changed to various other fonts.
In November 2006, the U.S. Army launched its Army Strong ad campaign, utilizing Interstate as its primary typeface for all ad materials.24
In May 2008, Ernst & Young adopted the use of Interstate in marketing materials and reports as part of a new global visual identity.
The 2010 video game GoldenEye 007 uses Interstate Light Condensed for all in-game text.
The typeface is used on the Global Television Network its on-air newscasts and general branding.
As of 2025, the Sesame Street sign logo uses Interstate in Compressed Bold.25
Interstate has also been widely used for newspapers and magazines,26 including Los Angeles Times,27 Radio Times, and the Daily Mirror newspaper who use the font in their TV guide and headlines. Virgin Media 360 also uses it on their interface.
Typefaces inspired by Interstate
Parachute Type Foundry designed the PF Grand Gothik Variable typeface, based on the Interstate typeface, with OpenType features.2829
Parachute Type Foundry also designed the PF Highway Sans typeface, which also based on the Interstate typeface.3031
Ray Larabie also designed the Expressway typeface, which also based on the Interstate typeface.32
See also
- Overpass, an open source alternative to Interstate, commissioned by Red Hat
- Clearview, a highway signage typeface designed to replace Highway Gothic33
Sources
- Friedl, Friedrich; Ott, Nicolaus; Stein, Bernard (1998). Typography: An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Throughout History. Running Press. ISBN 9781579120238.
- Haley, Allan (1998). Type: Hot Designers Make Cool Fonts. Rockport Publishers. ISBN 9781564963178.
- MacMillan, Neil (2006). An A-Z of Type Designers. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300111517.
- Spiekermann, Erik (2014). Stop stealing sheep & find out how type works (Third edition ed.). San Jose, CA: AdobePress. ISBN 978-0-321-93428-4.
- Carter, Rob (2015). Typographic design: form and communication (6. ed ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. ISBN 978-1-118-71576-5.
- Shaw, Paul; Hoefler, Jonathan (2017). Revival type: digital typefaces inspired by the past. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-21929-6.
External links
- Interstate type family at Frere-Jones Type
- US Army Army Strong Style Guide[permanent dead link]
References
Frere-Jones, Tobias; Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, eds. (2009). Tobias Frere-Jones Gerrit Noordzij prize exhibition: The Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 06.03.09 - 28.03.09. Amsterdam: Uitgev. De Buitenkant. p. 46. ISBN 978-90-76452-58-6. 978-90-76452-58-6 ↩
Type Network Staff. "A Frere-Jones classic branches out". Type Network. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://typenetwork.com/articles/a-frere-jones-classic-branches-out ↩
"Interstate in use". Fonts In Use. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://fontsinuse.com/typefaces/2247/interstate ↩
"Interstate". frerejones.com. Frere-Jones Type. Retrieved 6 January 2025. https://frerejones.com/families/interstate ↩
"Interstate | Adobe Fonts". fonts.adobe.com. Retrieved 2025-03-02. https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/interstate#recommendations-section ↩
"Typotheque: Tobias Frere-Jones, type designer article on Typotheque by Dmitri Siegel". www.typotheque.com. 2004-11-29. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://www.typotheque.com/articles/tobias-frere-jones-type-designer ↩
"Tobias Frere-Jones. Interstate. 1993-1995 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2025-03-02. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/139305 ↩
Type Network. "Miller & Interstate in MoMA's collection". TypeNetwork. Retrieved 2025-06-22. https://typenetwork.com/articles/miller-interstate-in-momas-collection ↩
"MoMA | Digital Fonts: 23 New Faces in MoMA's Collection". www.moma.org. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2011/01/24/digital-fonts-23-new-faces-in-moma-s-collection/ ↩
"Typotheque: Tobias Frere-Jones, type designer article on Typotheque by Dmitri Siegel". www.typotheque.com. 2004-11-29. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://www.typotheque.com/articles/tobias-frere-jones-type-designer ↩
"Is Gotham the New Interstate?". The Morning News. 2002-08-08. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://themorningnews.org/is-gotham-the-new-interstate/ ↩
"Tobias Frere-Jones. Interstate. 1993-1995 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2025-03-02. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/139305 ↩
Type Network Staff. "A Frere-Jones classic branches out". Type Network. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://typenetwork.com/articles/a-frere-jones-classic-branches-out ↩
Tidwell, Kim (2025-01-14). "Frere-Jones Type Welcomes Home & Revives 13 Classics". PRINT Magazine. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://www.printmag.com/type-tuesday/frere-jones-type-revives-13-classics/ ↩
"Frere-Jones Wins National Design Award | RISD". www.risd.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://www.risd.edu/news/stories/frere-jones-wins-national-design-award ↩
"Hoefler & Frere-Jones". Communication Arts. 2004-05-06. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://www.commarts.com/features/hoefler-frere-jones ↩
"Interstate Font". fonnnt.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220705210326/https://www.fonnnt.com/fonts/interstate ↩
Jiang, Richard (July 14, 2018). "INTERSTATE, BOLD AND BRAVE". Medium. https://medium.com/@cwljzh/interstate-bold-and-brave-24ff693d306d ↩
Coles, Stephen (2013-11-19). "Citibank Identity". Fonts In Use. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://fontsinuse.com/uses/5238/citibank-identity ↩
Webtype (2012-10-10). "Lamborghini.com Website". Fonts In Use. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://fontsinuse.com/uses/1996/lamborghini-com-website ↩
Kupferschmid, Indra (2013-04-30). "Soundcloud website". Fonts In Use. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://fontsinuse.com/uses/3808/soundcloud-website ↩
"Frere-Jones Wins National Design Award | RISD". www.risd.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://www.risd.edu/news/stories/frere-jones-wins-national-design-award ↩
Litherland, Caren (2012-07-22). "Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal". Fonts In Use. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://fontsinuse.com/uses/1776/staten-island-ferry-whitehall-terminal ↩
Yingnog (2013-03-12). "Advanced Typography & Publication Design: Interstate". Advanced Typography & Publication Design. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://sdesadvtype2013s1.blogspot.com/2013/03/interstate.html ↩
Shown, Ben (2017-08-29). "My Top 5: True Tales of Logos I Love". Medium. Archived from the original on 2024-11-04. Retrieved 2025-06-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20241104180538/https://medium.com/tectonic/my-top-5-true-tales-of-logos-i-love-99df6a852b05 ↩
"Highway Fonts – Font Review Journal". 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://fontreviewjournal.com/highway-fonts/ ↩
Font Bureau (2012-02-14). "Los Angeles Times". Fonts In Use. Retrieved 2025-06-22. https://fontsinuse.com/uses/745/los-angeles-times ↩
"PF Grand Gothik Variable on Behance". behance.net. May 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2020. https://www.behance.net/gallery/80249893/PF-Grand-Gothik-Variable ↩
"PF Grand Gothik Variable". Parachute Fonts. Retrieved 26 January 2022. https://parachutefonts.com/typeface/Grand-Gothik ↩
"PF Highway Sans on Behance". behance.net. December 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2022. https://www.behance.net/gallery/22164173/PF-Highway-Sans-Pro ↩
"PF Highway Sans". Parachute Fonts. Retrieved 26 January 2022. https://parachutefonts.com/typeface/Highway-Sans ↩
"Expressway typeface". Typodermic Fonts. 3 March 2005. Retrieved 10 April 2023. https://typodermicfonts.com/expressway/ ↩
Yaffa, Joshua (2007-08-12). "The Road to Clarity". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-06-07. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/magazine/12fonts-t.html ↩