Digital version of MoT serif available?

[hassebasse]

This topic was imported from the Typophile platform

I just read about Kindersley's "MoT serif"-typeface, originally designed for British roadsigns, but never used. Does anyone know if this face has ever been digitized? It is a very interesting typeface, although very peculiar.

[Bert Vanderveen]

I know about Kindersley’s work on ‘perfect spacing’, but MoT Serif is new to me. Could you direct me into the cdirection of more info re this?

. . .
Bert Vanderveen BNO

[hassebasse]

http://www.myfonts.com/person/kindersley/david/

http://www.cbrd.co.uk/histories/wartoworboys/img/18.gif

And from Wikipedia: Kindersley invented a system for the accurate spacing of letters, which though often praised, has not seen wide adoption. Kindersley's work in this area formed the basis of an artist's project by his former assistant the calligrapher Owen Williams called Testing David.[10] In 1952 he submitted a design, MoT Serif, to the British Ministry of Transport, who required new lettering to use on United Kingdom road signs. Although the Road Research Laboratory found Kindersley's design more legible, the all-capitals design with serifs was passed over in favour of that of Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert. Many of the street signs in England, especially in Cambridge use Kindersley fonts.

Also, there is a whole chapter on this in the book "Type: The Secret History of Letters", a great book by the way...

[Frode Bo Helland]

Dear Hassebasse. The Cardozo Kindersley Workshop offers a font called Grand Arcade as a free download. According to their site, it is based on the MOT Serif.

Our new face based on KINDERSLEY MOT has been designed, for the Grand Arcade, Cambridge. It will have a newly designed lower-case to fit the original capitals from David Kindersley’s drawings which have now properly digitised.

[hrant]

An ascending OS "2"! Wonderful.

But: shame it's free; they could've used the money for a good cause.

hhp

[charles_e]

It was paid for, according to the Cardozo Kindersley Workshop site:

...thanks to Grosvenor who paid for David’s 1950s face to be properly digitised – David would be most upset to see the terrible variations of his KINDERSLEY MOT. So please use this proper version.

So it should meet hhp's stamp of quality, money was paid. Interestingly enough, one "terrible variation" may be a for-sale font -- brought to you by Monotype & others...

http://www.myfonts.com/search/octavian/fonts/

Oh, and stay out of libraries with all their books free to be read, denying us authors our proper royalties...

[hrant]

If only distorting were a paid gig, you could afford the best type.

hhp

[Maxim Zhukov]

According to their site, it is based on the MOT Serif

Kindersley Street seems to be a fairly distant relative of Kindersley MoT:

 

An interesting design, though.

[Frode Bo Helland]

Interesting that the website implies the capitals are a faithful digitization.

It will have a newly designed lower-case to fit the original capitals from David Kindersley’s drawings which have now properly digitised.

and

(…) properly digitised – David would be most upset to see the terrible variations of his KINDERSLEY MOT.