Zahlen, bitte! DIN 1451 – The font that everyone on the move knows.

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Even if you've never heard of DIN 1451, you've seen it because it's a constant companion in everyday life. The font family, which is summarized under DIN 1451, is mainly found on traffic signs and information boards. However, it can also be seen in technical drawings, on stamps, on lettering or in advertising.

Zahlen, bitte!

In this section, we present amazing, impressive, informative and funny figures ("Zahlen") from the fields of IT, science, art, business, politics and, of course, mathematics every Tuesday. The wordplay "Zahlen, bitte!" for a section about numbers is based on the ambiguity of the German word "Zahlen." On one hand, "Zahlen" can be understood as a noun in the sense of digits and numerical values, which fits the theme of the section. On the other hand, the phrase "Zahlen, bitte!" is reminiscent of a waiter's request in a restaurant or bar when they are asked to bring the bill. Through this association, the section acquires a playful and slightly humorous undertone that catches the readers' attention and makes them curious about the presented numbers and facts.

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It is more ubiquitous than the infamous Comic Sans – but it does not generate any storms of protest. This is due to its inconspicuousness: the sans serif font is considered easy to read without distracting from the actual information with design frills.

Role model: simple and legible railroad lettering

It has its origins in the predecessors of Deutsche Bahn. Issue 3 of the Prussian model drawing IV 44 from 1906 provided the first model. The Prussian-Hessian Railway Company needed a uniform, easily legible lettering that could be applied to the sign or locomotive by railroad employees with little painting skill.

In order to ensure easy application, it was designed in linear Antiqua, so that all strokes had the same thickness and were designed in simple, geometric shapes, which stood in contrast to the traditional font classes popular at the time, such as Baroque Antiqua with its often filigree elements and ornate decorations.

After the First World War, the Weimar Republic had to rebuild, and industrialization in particular called for rationalization and standardization. To ensure this, the "Standards Committee of German Industry" (later the German Institute for Standardization (DIN)) was founded in Berlin in 1917.

Development of DIN 1451

In order to put an end to the fragmentation of sign lettering, a uniform typeface was needed. In 1925, the typeface of sample drawing IV 44 was therefore adopted in DIN 1451 and further developed with the significant involvement of Ludwig Gollar, an employee of Siemens & Halske and chairman of the DIN committee. For example, the font standard still had to be optimized for lead typesetting so that it could also be used for printed products.

DIN 1451 appeared as a preliminary standard in 1931 and contained narrow, medium and wide fonts optimized for different widths and purposes. It was published as a standard in 1936, so that the font became the standard for the technical and transportation sectors. Since then, it has been used uniformly for railroad lettering and traffic signs as well as for technical drawings. It can still be found today on lettering and stamps, wherever good legibility is crucial.

After the Second World War, it was also adopted for license plates from 1956 by resolution of the Godesberg Conference. With minor changes, DIN 1451 remained the standard for license plates until 1994. Its simplicity became a problem during this period: as it was designed with simple geometric shapes, it was also possible to falsify the letters using simple means. The FE typeface was therefore developed as a successor in the 1970s, but was not used until 1994.

Several modernizations over the decades

DIN 1451 has undergone several revisions over time. In 1981, for example, it was changed to ensure better legibility. The wide font was also removed from the standard. Over time, other countries such as Greece, Latvia, Namibia and South Africa also adopted the font family for their road signs. In Austria, a font based on DIN 1451 was in use until 2010 with the "Austria" font, which was gradually replaced by a font family "Tern" specially developed for car signs.

Digitalization also found its way into DIN 1451. Many digital variants of the DIN 1451 fonts have been created along with modifications, one of the best known being the railroad font that Microsoft integrated into Windows 10 version 1709 on October 17, 2017. According to Microsoft, its designers were so impressed by DIN 1451 that they developed a font based on it in the form of Bahnschrift.

The fonts are still important for DIN itself, but since the 2018 update, they no longer have a unique selling point. The DIN fonts are still included in the standard, but usable alternatives are also listed. Albert-Jan Pool, type designer and chairman of the responsible DIN font standards committee, writes: "Since the last update of the standard in 1980, both the technical conditions and the knowledge about good legibility of type have developed further. Consequently, many new, more legible fonts have been designed, including sans serif types." In the interests of inclusion in particular, a broader access to legible fonts is being promoted.

Regardless of whether you are driving on the highway, a country road or looking for a parking space in the city: DIN 1451 fonts remain ubiquitous.

(mawi)