Rose – SPECIAL REPLACEMENT BLIND SERVICE 2016

Description

The author investigates why London bus destination blinds have become less legible and describes solutions he developed for TfL. He argues that aesthetics, typography and especially spacing (letter, word and line spacing) determine readability more than mere character height. Recent problems stem partly from DDA guidance that fixes minimum cap heights and recommends certain sans‑serifs, which led suppliers to reduce inter‑letter spacing or horizontally squash letters when names wouldn’t fit—hurting legibility. The author defends Edward Johnston’s type principles but created a family of Johnston‑based widths—Medium, Condensed, Extra Condensed and Ultra Condensed—to preserve letter shapes and spacing without distortion. He built a library of about 1,350 front destinations and delivered thousands of blinds, improving clarity and layout (including two‑line destinations and superior small caps). He also trialled e‑ink electronic displays, noting size, contrast and durability challenges. Overall he urges purpose‑built display areas and careful typographic design and spacing rather than forcing type into inadequate boxes.