History
DIN stands for Deutsches Institut fúr Normung, or in English: German Institute for Standards. When DIN is used as a typeface what is being referred to is DIN 1451. This typeface started out as a specification by Prussian Railways for lettering on coaches and signs. The letterforms were designed with function over form; a typeface that would be easy to apply at a larger size across a wide range of applications. When the railroads of the German States were consolidated into one national railroads in 1905 the newly formed German Railroads elected to adopt the Prussian Railway,s typeface across the country. This coincided with a larger push among the German government and people to establish national standards for everything needed in a modern industrial country. This culminated with the DIN committee deciding in 1927 to standardize the typeface used across Germany. This committee was headed by Siemens engineer Ludwig Goller and ultimately elected to adopt a modified version of the German Railway,s typeface, creating DIN 1451 Mittelschrift (medium) and Engschrift (condensed) in 1936. As the standard typeface of the country DIN ended up as the typeface for street signs throughout the country.
Despite, and perhaps because of, DIN,s widespread use the generic construction felt harsh and too plain for many designers. When the British government was looking for a new typeface for the signs on their highway system, the original brief alluded directly to DIN. However the team tasked with creating the typeface itself felt DIN would to be too plain and harsh for the British countryside. Transport, their final design reflects some of the more unique characteristics DIN, while incorporating more personality. Because DIN 1451 was the first typeface to be standardized across a highway system, it was the standard that all other counties compared themselves to. As a result it set the tone for road sign aesthetics. Even typefaces such as Clearview and Frutiger that are common today can trace elements of their design back to DIN 1451. Many of these new highway sign typefaces set out to improve upon the legibility of DIN 1451, as DIN was not initially designed for that purpose, later revisions to the face have addressed many of the changes improving legibility and modernizing the face. DIN is still in use on the German highway system, but the license plates were updated in 1994 to improve a different type of legibility. This updated design was created especially so that computer based traffic monitoring systems could been distinguish between letterforms.
