January 25, 2013
by KK
3 Comments

We were honored with the project of designing all new signage for the NYC Parkway Department of Transportation sign series. I first posted this in July of last year and we have been working on it ever since. There are SO many studies that go into public signage. They had to adhere to the regulation alphabet that is scientifically studied to be the best typography spacing that can be seen from vehicles moving at a high rate of speed. If it were up to me, it would have been cleaner.

But we managed to have a bit of a breakthrough when we created the new standards that are set forth for all future signs! Our first assignment was the Henry Hudson Parkway. There was a lot of discussion about what the icon should be. NY DOT agreed that each Parkway should have a story that is reflected in the signage. So I immediately bought the children’s book: The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge. According to wiki:

The Book:
“Published in 1942, this children’s book uses the story of the building of the George Washington Bridge next to the small lighthouse to affirm the idea that even the small are important. The book begins by introducing the lighthouse and its job of warning the boats on the busy Hudson River of the rocks nearby. Every night a man climbs up to the top of the lighthouse and turns on its flashing light. When there is fog, the man additionally turns on the lighthouse’s fog bell. The lighthouse is pleased with and proud of its important job.”

The Lighthouse:
“It was reconstructed in 1921 as part of a project to improve Hudson River navigational aids, and was in operation until 1947. When the George Washington Bridge was completed in 1931, however, the lighthouse was considered obsolete, as the bridge pier was illuminated. The story of the 1942 children’s book, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, by Hildegarde Swift, centers around the fears of the lighthouse that it was now irrelevant, but the bridge reassures it that it is still needed to help keep river traffic safe.“


UPDATE: This is the version I am still pushing. The letter spacing is funky on the sign that the DOT worked on. I am working on getting it as close to our version as possible. It’s all about the kerning,