MS Relay
Sans
MS Relay Sans is a sans serif typeface and information system for wayfinding, transport and public environments. Ten weights, directional forms and pictograms work together as one clear visual language across signage, maps, print and digital interfaces.
U+E02E
⮉3Aa
Exit 3
British Museum ⮊
⮉ Way Out
⮉ The Shard
Guy’s Hospital
Guy’s Hospital
Jubilee line ⮉
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MS Relay Sans system alignment
This page shows how the main components of MS Relay Sans operate together as a unified information system. Letterforms, numerals, pictograms and directional symbols are shown at the same scale, allowing their proportions, visual weight and overall character to be compared directly.
Typography and symbols are designed to share a consistent optical language. Stroke weight, spacing, scale and internal proportions are balanced so that pictograms and symbols sit naturally alongside text without becoming visually dominant or disconnected from the typographic system.
The composition also demonstrates how these relationships remain consistent across different forms of information, including destinations, directions, numbering and identification. Each element retains its individual function while contributing to a common visual hierarchy.
Pictograms are adjusted optically according to their form and complexity rather than being forced into a rigid construction grid. Their proportions and visual weight are developed in direct relation to the typeface, allowing text and symbols to operate together across signage, maps, printed information and digital interfaces.
⮉⮊PLATFORM89Night
lineÆ47:MetroFlow!2
OFFLINEZürich🅑🅒🅓Rail
TRAFFICfield❺🅑Central
19.42Over›Underground
Østbahn4EXITUserflow
Office12Line›Userflow🅜
⮉CentralLine❶PlatformA⮊
Metro7🅦Northbound→Exit
←District④Connection89
MS Relay Sans is structured across ten weights, ranging from Thin to Black. The range allows information hierarchy to be established through weight while maintaining consistent proportions and character across the family.
Lighter weights support editorial and larger-scale applications, while the heavier weights provide the visual presence required for directional information, identification and signage. Each weight remains structurally consistent, allowing different levels of information to operate within the same typographic system.
- 100Thin
- 200Extralight
- 300Light
- 400Regular
- 500Medium
- 600Semibold
- 700Bold
- 800Extrabold
- 850Heavy
- 900Black
Relay carries every message forward.
This grotesk typeface has been developed as a functional and adaptable visual system for wayfinding, transport and public-information environments. Its construction is based on clear proportions, open counters and carefully controlled stroke relationships, allowing the letterforms to remain legible across a wide range of scales, viewing distances and applications.
While the overall character is neutral and systematic, subtle details prevent the design from appearing mechanical or anonymous. The terminals, joins and curved forms have been optically adjusted to create a consistent rhythm, while the spacing supports both short directional messages and longer passages of information.
The accompanying pictogram family extends the same visual language through shared proportions, stroke weight, geometry and formal details. Across the following pages, the typeface and symbols are presented through selected characters, words, directional messages, pictograms, spacing studies and practical wayfinding applications.
This chapter of the study focuses on the coherence between the typography and the pictogram system, examining how both elements work together as a unified visual language.
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Wayfinding Set
Enclosed Characters
🅦
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Character Set
Glyphs
A
U+0041A
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
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