legibility
•
•
•
•
the ease with which a page can be read
influenced by many physical factors
can be addressed through design
an important aspect of page design
page design
factors influencing legibility
factors influencing readability
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
font type
font size
character spacing
word spacing
line length
line spacing
serifs
punctuation
word usage
expressions
level of language
use of images and diagrams
legibility and font type
legibility and font size
• display fonts
• title fonts
• script fonts
•
•
•
•
•
•
This text has been written in a script font which is quite hard to read and
takes more effort than the font above
font size measured in points
72pts = 1 inch
on paper display fonts sizes most legible 9 - 12 point
on screen 11 - 13 point
younger readers require larger font
font size matched to line length
1
legibility and line length
legiblity and line spacing
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
lines too long are hard to read
lines too short are hard to read
line length can be varied with columns
optimal line length 54-80 characters
line length often too long on computer screens
legibility and word spacing
line spacing called leading
optimal spacing is font size + 20%
written as Arial 10/12
fonts with small x-height can be legible with less
leading eg. Caslon
legibility and character spacing
•
•
•
•
•
•
spaces used to distinguish between words
Minimum space is preferable
Close consistent spacing is best
fully justified spacing limits legibility
vertical spaces can limit legibility
word spacing can be reduced through use of
punctuation
• only 1 space after a full stop
• fixed width spacing is more difficult to read than
proportional width spacing
• kerning can reduce character spacing for some
letters eg. w, v and y
other considerations
page layout
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
uppercase letters
serif and sans-serif
page layout
text decorations
hierarchy
repetition
balance
contrast
2
hierarchy
repetition
balance
contrast
•
•
•
•
•
•
newspaper layout
size
weight
position
shape
colour
harmony
magazine layout
3
textbook layout
non-fiction layout
digital scrapbook
4