The DIN typeface originated in the German railway system, and is therefore most associated with public transportation signage. After the unification of the German states in 1915, Prussian-Hessian Railways decided that all lettering on railway platforms and stations must also be executed according to the 1905 master drawing. The Weimar Republic and the unification of the German states lead to the merging of all state railways by Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1920, causing the Prussian railway typeface to spread across Germany. From 1920 to 1945, engineer Ludwig Goller of the DIN Committee lead the central standardization process of the typeface at Siemens & Halske in Berlin. The name DIN 1451 is an acronym for “Deutsches Institut fur Normung�. D. Stempel AG was the first type foundry that produced printing types according to DIN Standard, and released versions of DIN to be used outside of the German railway system. By 1936, DIN became a country-wide standard and was officially adopted by Germany. The typeface was first used as a standard for traffic signs, street signs, building signs, airplanes, machinery, and house numbers.
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