Airport

An interpretation of Matthew Carter’s alphabet for London Airport.

The original was drawn in 1961 for the wayfinding system in the newly built Oceanic Terminal, today known as Heathrow Terminal 3. For this showcase of modern Britain, designer Colin Forbes wanted something straightforward like Akzidenz, but with all stroke endings made horizontal.

Carter also raised the x-height, in order to maximize legibility. While the signs were pasted up from photostats, the alphabet was also produced as a phototype font. Despite being made available from various type providers, it didn’t catch on, and was overshadowed by the similar Helvetica.

The digital reimagination expands Carter’s design to seven weights and optimizes it for contemporary use. Airport supports a large number of Latin-based languages and includes numerous extras like alternates, arrows, and circled and squared glyphs.

Airport is optionally available as variable font with a weight axis. There is a version with a second axis that contains Airport X, a variant with a lower x-height.