The beta testers of our Wayfinding Sans typeface kept asking us about support for signage pictograms. So we finally gave in. Here is a quick video preview of where we are today.
Wayfinding Sans Symbols (Preview) from Ralf Herrmann on Vimeo.
I would be happy receive feedback about it. A general symbol set can never work for each and every signage project, but I would be interested to hear more about your experience. Are there certain symbols you often need, which are not available in the usual sets? What kind of additional functionality would you need? Do you usually use fixed-width symbols or freestanding versions for inline placement? What about signs for different cultural backgrounds? What about subjective reading directions for signs like stairs?
We plan to make this symbol font a free release on fonts.info. You can also follow the development of Wayfinding Sans on our new facebook page.
Fabulous news! While I might not be keen on the exact symbols they use, the concept behind this idea is superb! As he points out in the video, currently we have to use individual symbols with independent lines of type - it's difficult to ensure alignment and such. It's impossible to make global changes, so a font like this would be useful beyond imagination for a wayfinding consultant like myself.