For Johnston Sans’ 100th birthday, TfL has commissioned Monotype to redraw the typeface, bringing the design back closer to its original roots in many respects. Going forward, it will be this cut that will be used on all new TfL signage, maps and collateral.

The redraw also introduces two new weights – Thin and Hairline – that I remain unconvinced by. I suspect they’ve been added for online usage and advertising purposes, but they just don’t look very “Johnston-y” to me, just becoming yet another ultralight sans serif. The remaining idiosyncrasy of the diamond-shaped tittles (the technical term for the dots over the “i” and “j”) looks very heavy and unbalanced in these lighter weights.

Still, this introductory video is quite interesting as the designers explain their inspiration and thought processes behind this newest version of this venerable typeface. Here’s to another 100 years!

Source: Vimeo