Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Underwhelming, for sure.
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Stations rebranded to Great British Railways design / Rail Alphabet 2
- Thread starter JaJaWa
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Steddenm
Member
Shouldn't the arrow be pointing to Platforms 12-16 and not Platform?
Hb06_
Member
I went to Coventry and Crewe last weekend. Coventry now has exterior wayfinding signage at it's new station building, but it doesn't look right to me. The arrow and font weight really don't compliment each other. Crewe has a surprising amount of "new" signage.
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Trainfan2019
Member
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- 9 Aug 2019
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- 452
I'm surprised Crewe hasn't got any more new signs. When I took my photos of the new signs at Crewe a few weeks ago (further upthread) I expected to see more each day. As far as I know though, no other ones have appeared at Crewe apart from the ones in this thread.
birchesgreen
Established Member
Those crow feet arrows are awful.
nlogax
Established Member
The more RA2 I see - especially the inconsistent application across locations - the less enthused I am about it.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
To me it genuinely has a "back to the 80s" feel, and that is not a good thing.
Huge, costly, mistake
Why are they doing this!?
It all looks cheap and temporary and the stick arrows are awful. At the very least get some vinyl out and put coloured bands along the bottom.
Its almost like right wingers said "You wanted BR back....isn't communism dreary?"
Chiltern006
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py_megapixel
Established Member
I don't really see what you've improved there to be honest. It's not worse, but I'm not sure changing the font makes any difference to the fact that just having text and arrows looks boring.
I'm also still in two minds about whether the wayfinding signage looking boring is actually a bad thing.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
It is like what the back end of New St has and I think it looks very good. White just looks drab and gets dirty.
py_megapixel
Established Member
Yes, I think the "dark theme" version of it, as I can't help but call it, looks nice - but Chiltern006's post suggested that Rail Alphabet 2 (which is the font) was the problem. I disagree that it is - though perhaps a bolder weight should be used.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I am not that much of a fan of the font, but I don't hate it either (I do hate the arrows, though). But I agree it looks better in a bolder face.
Trainfan2019
Member
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Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
That neatly demonstrates why white signage is a bad idea.
But that amount of grime on any colour sign is going to look bad, it's not something particularly wrong with white. Any sign is going to get messy if left in a station for this long without being cleaned.
Here's an example of a Virgin era sign at Crewe (taken from Google Street View so ignore the wobble, I assume it isn't actually this beat up) that was starting to get messy in 2015 and given another 10-20 years as the BR one has been, would be just as bad even though its a black background.
D6130
Established Member
Not sure whether it's already been mentioned, but I noticed yesterday that Cononley has the new signs.
Probably need the geographical context but the direction of the arrows seem inconsistent. The coloured lines denoting the underground lines are definitely too thin, I didn't notice them at first as I was expecting something to the left of the line name.
Goldfish62
Established Member
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The lines so thin that the colours are barely distinguishable.
Peter Sarf
Established Member
I never noticed the lines - pointless as too weak and too far from the text. Lilly being gilded.
I also wonder if the name of the two lines should be indented. My first interpretation was that the "Euston Underground via stairs" was a separete entity from Victoria and Northern. I assume there is a sign nearby pointing out the alternative underground lines (at Euston Square) ?.
HYPODERMIC
Member
Hmm.
I really like Rail Alphabet 2 itself - it's a very crisp and clear typeface which successfully modernises the original. It looks excellent in the white-on-black trial signs at New Street.
I do quite like the smaller directional/wayfinding signs at London Euston and Coventry as well. However, the little pictograms/symbols seem too small to me. Even in the reasonably close-up photos from Euston, the details on the 'customer lounge', 'lost property', and 'toilets' symbols are actually quite hard to read from a distance. I suspect that people with poorer eyesight might find the symbols hard to read at a glance. For me, the symbols are so small that my eyes are naturally drawn to the words instead. And as others have said, the arrows look much too 'thin'.
I don't like the bigger 'Euston Station' entrance sign. The giant black on white still looks very austere and uninviting - like what I imagine the 1980s to have been like. But I don't mind the black-on-white for the smaller directional signs; it actually looks quite presentable.
I really like Rail Alphabet 2 itself - it's a very crisp and clear typeface which successfully modernises the original. It looks excellent in the white-on-black trial signs at New Street.
I do quite like the smaller directional/wayfinding signs at London Euston and Coventry as well. However, the little pictograms/symbols seem too small to me. Even in the reasonably close-up photos from Euston, the details on the 'customer lounge', 'lost property', and 'toilets' symbols are actually quite hard to read from a distance. I suspect that people with poorer eyesight might find the symbols hard to read at a glance. For me, the symbols are so small that my eyes are naturally drawn to the words instead. And as others have said, the arrows look much too 'thin'.
I don't like the bigger 'Euston Station' entrance sign. The giant black on white still looks very austere and uninviting - like what I imagine the 1980s to have been like. But I don't mind the black-on-white for the smaller directional signs; it actually looks quite presentable.
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plymothian
Member
Once again we have arrows pointing in to text, which is be a big no-no in wayfinding. Arrows should be justified by the direction. This would however necessitate a division between the two sections in this particular case.
Class360/1
Member
What a waste of money! Fonts and signage need to be consistent, and RA2 signage is anything but that.
such a shame if I’m honest with you
such a shame if I’m honest with you
the sniper
Established Member
- Joined
- 4 Sep 2007
- Messages
- 3,499
Totally agree. That design would have been quite unique internationally, smart, clear and a nod to traditional railway signage. Pictures reposted in the post below, so nobody forgets what we could have had...
Hopefully NR's choice isn't set in stone.
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Class360/1
Member
Same with Bath Spa- there are tonnes
I really hope NR review this, but I doubt this. Furthermore, unless the sign is cleaned regulary, give it some time and the sign will be too muddy to read.
Goldfish62
Established Member
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Agreed. This whole project is a complete waste of time and money if there's no consistent standard. A lesson in how not to implement a new corporate identity.
So the sign in the first image it should just be Euston not Euston Station, the arrow is also incorrect.
Sign in the second image is better but no separation between the two directions is confusing, could do with a line here. Also I believe the right arrow should be on the right side of the the sign not the left.
Still very rusty at the moment with real life implementation
D6130
Established Member
Why not simply reinstate Rail Alphabet 1....as used by BR from 1966 until privatisation? It was nearly perfect and copied by other administrations (e.g. DSB).