4 ms·

There's also "architect handwriting" [0], designed to reduce potentially dangerous misunderstandings involving buying the wrong part. It used to be a required c

There's also "architect handwriting" [0], designed to reduce potentially dangerous misunderstandings involving buying the wrong part. It used to be a required course in a lot of architecture schools before computers starting doing it all. It's cool that there's not just one, but multiple "profession-specific handwriting". [0]: https://artdepartmental.com/2009/10/12/learning-architectural-lettering/ https://artdepartmental.com/2009/10/12/learning-architectura...

nkrisc 10y ago
We learned a similar style in my high school drafting courses. Before we got to use the CAD software on the computers, we had to do two years of drafting by hand, including learning to write in this style. Junior and Senior year we did the CAD stuff.
- function_seven 10y ago
  I owe my legible handwriting to the drafting courses I took in high school. Before we were allowed to draw anything, we had to get a perfect score on one lettering assignment. It involved filling an A-size sheet (9" x 12"?) with many lines of alphabet and prose. You'd finish, walk it up to the teacher, and he'd look it over. He'd give lots of praise, find one tiny little mistake, then mark it a '9' (10 needed) and cheerfully hand it back, "Almost there!" It was weeks of this before the actual drawing started for some students. And they'd be expected to catch up to everyone else.
  - nkrisc 10y ago
    That scoring approach sounds just about the same way my teacher scored. If two lines didn't connect perfectly but had a micron long tail sticking out he'd catch it.
WalterBright 10y ago
Boeing has their own font for use in mechanical drafting (probably long gone now due to CAD software). The point was to avoid misunderstandings, and to make it legible even after being badly microfilmed. They were very particular that it be done correctly, too. I wasn't aware of a course in it, one was just shown an example and told to do it that way.
TeMPOraL 10y ago
Then there's also "Technical lettering" that was (is?) used in all kinds of engineering. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_lettering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_lettering We learned that in primary school back in the 90s. EDIT: I'm also surprised that in the "architectural lettering" example you provided, it's 'o' that's crossed, as opposed to '0'.
- DanBC 10y ago
  Isn't that the diameter symbol, and not o, O, or 0? http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2300/index.htm http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2300/index.htm
  - kalleboo 10y ago
    From its position among the regional accented letters, I'd assume it's the Danish/Norwegian Ø http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/00d8/index.htm http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/00d8/index.htm
  - TeMPOraL 10y ago
    Yes, it turns out it isn't #\O. I missed the real #\O at the beginning of the same line.
- dunham 10y ago
  That's pretty close to what we were taught in my high school mechanical drafting class back in the late 80's. I remember being told that it was designed (e.g. big openings on the A) to survive being reduced to microfilm and back.
- vacri 10y ago
  Neither o nor 0 is crossed in the architectural lettering - that's the letter Ø. There's a few other non-modern-English letters in that initial alphabet line as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98
- gcb0 10y ago
  the crossed O there is a distinct letter. neither lettering formats take distinction of O and 0 into account.
tomjakubowski 10y ago
The Basque language has a characteristic style of lettering that dates back to the Middle Ages. So now I wonder how Basque architects write... http://www.nabasque.org/fonts.html http://www.nabasque.org/fonts.html
pjc50 10y ago
I've seen some of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh architectural plans (for the Glasgow School of Art), and he made his own stylistically distinct variant: https://www.myfonts.com/person/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh/ https://www.myfonts.com/person/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh/

nkrisc 10y ago

We learned a similar style in my high school drafting courses. Before we got to use the CAD software on the computers, we had to do two years of drafting by hand, including learning to write in this style. Junior and Senior year we did the CAD stuff.

function_seven 10y ago
I owe my legible handwriting to the drafting courses I took in high school. Before we were allowed to draw anything, we had to get a perfect score on one lettering assignment. It involved filling an A-size sheet (9" x 12"?) with many lines of alphabet and prose. You'd finish, walk it up to the teacher, and he'd look it over. He'd give lots of praise, find one tiny little mistake, then mark it a '9' (10 needed) and cheerfully hand it back, "Almost there!" It was weeks of this before the actual drawing started for some students. And they'd be expected to catch up to everyone else.
- nkrisc 10y ago
  That scoring approach sounds just about the same way my teacher scored. If two lines didn't connect perfectly but had a micron long tail sticking out he'd catch it.

WalterBright 10y ago

Boeing has their own font for use in mechanical drafting (probably long gone now due to CAD software). The point was to avoid misunderstandings, and to make it legible even after being badly microfilmed. They were very particular that it be done correctly, too. I wasn't aware of a course in it, one was just shown an example and told to do it that way.

TeMPOraL 10y ago

Then there's also "Technical lettering" that was (is?) used in all kinds of engineering. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_lettering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_lettering We learned that in primary school back in the 90s. EDIT: I'm also surprised that in the "architectural lettering" example you provided, it's 'o' that's crossed, as opposed to '0'.

DanBC 10y ago
Isn't that the diameter symbol, and not o, O, or 0? http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2300/index.htm http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2300/index.htm
- kalleboo 10y ago
  From its position among the regional accented letters, I'd assume it's the Danish/Norwegian Ø http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/00d8/index.htm http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/00d8/index.htm
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  Yes, it turns out it isn't #\O. I missed the real #\O at the beginning of the same line.
dunham 10y ago
That's pretty close to what we were taught in my high school mechanical drafting class back in the late 80's. I remember being told that it was designed (e.g. big openings on the A) to survive being reduced to microfilm and back.
vacri 10y ago
Neither o nor 0 is crossed in the architectural lettering - that's the letter Ø. There's a few other non-modern-English letters in that initial alphabet line as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98
gcb0 10y ago
the crossed O there is a distinct letter. neither lettering formats take distinction of O and 0 into account.

tomjakubowski 10y ago

The Basque language has a characteristic style of lettering that dates back to the Middle Ages. So now I wonder how Basque architects write... http://www.nabasque.org/fonts.html http://www.nabasque.org/fonts.html

pjc50 10y ago

I've seen some of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh architectural plans (for the Glasgow School of Art), and he made his own stylistically distinct variant: https://www.myfonts.com/person/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh/ https://www.myfonts.com/person/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh/