National Parks use a distinct typeface, featuring round edges in all caps carved into wooden signs. And now you can download it.
Shellhorn, who was on sabbatical from his current job as an associate professor of design at the University of Kansas, was redesigning the park’s newspaper and wanted to include the type found on National Park signs. But he soon discovered there was no digital typeface because the letters are simply formed with a CNC router in the park’s sign shop, chiseled into wood. The shape of the letters were determined by the size of the router bit.
Although it sounds like the typeface wasn’t intentionally designed, it’s a good choice for signage because of the legibility due to all capital letters and wide kerning.
Check It Out: You Can Download the National Parks’ Typeface