Consist

Consist is a dot matrix font inspired by automated station information (ASI) displays on Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad (MNR) trains.

Constructed using a seven-by-seven dot grid, the basic letters/numbers and some punctuation marks can mostly all be found within the MTA system. Many special characters were custom-constructed within this existing design system.

The font family features four typefaces: Consist M7, where the dots are filled in as seen on the displays. Consist M7A, with the fill removed, leaving only the outlines. Consist C3, a unicase face found on and inspired by the ASI displays on LIRR bi-level coach traincars, namely the C3s. And Consist M9, a condensed version based mainly on station platform signage. The font name Consist is named after the noun “consist,” meaning the group of rail vehicles making up a train.

The most notable aspect of this font is the exclusion of any descenders. Lowercase letters such as “g” and “y” sit between the mean line and the baseline. Some lowercase letters such as “b” and “f” still have ascenders, however. Capital letters and numbers, and lowercase letters with ascenders, are designed within a five-by-seven dot grid, with the remaining lowercase letters in an even tighter five-by-five grid.

Many characters have alternates, which are based on different dot matrix display signs found in the MTA system, such as the audio visual paging system (AVPS) displays found overhead on LIRR station platforms. These letterforms and their alternates can be found elsewhere, such as on overhead variable-message signs on parkways, and beyond New York, such as on the T in Boston, and Amtrak AVPS displays.

Concept and direction by Alex Inkpen.

alexinkpen.com/consist