FHWASeriesC2020plus50

FHWA Series C 2020 plus 50 font by PublicDomainHighwayFonts is a free sans serif typeface based on the FHWA Series C 2020 family, built for crisp legibility in tight spaces. Tall, compressed letters with generous inner space and steady stroke width make words lock together like cleanly painted road markings, staying readable even at small sizes or long distances. The rhythm is engineered rather than decorative, so labels, numbers, and short phrases stay calm and consistent instead of crowding or wobbling.

Using FHWA Series C 2020 plus 50, you can set wayfinding systems, transit maps, dashboards, technical diagrams, infographics, and compact UI labels that need to be scanned in a split second. This free font shines when space is limited but clarity can’t be compromised. Pair it with a wider grotesque or geometric sans for headings, letting FHWA Series C 2020 handle all the directional, data-heavy, or navigational text.

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These fonts are for designing street, highway, and freeway signs in the United States and are based on public-domain outlines from the FHWA Standard Highway Signs manual.

They were designed on a 10,000 Em square to accurately fit word widths to a 1/1000" specification, based on the tables in the Standard Highway Signs manual, when set at 504 points (5.6" height) in Adobe Illustrator. Words can be scaled up or down to the specified letter height while maintaining a high degree of width accuracy.

Additional letter spacing for U.S. signs is determined by percentage rather than software “tracking.” Separate fonts are provided for spacing up to 50% positive or negative. The -100 and +100 fonts can be used to blend with a +50 or -50 word to obtain 60%, 70%, or 80% above or below.

No kerning tables are provided, because kerning is not used in the official production of U.S. street signs.