Fontopia
One of our clients recently asked us to help them choose a font for their new visual design. We certainly have our opinions about this issue, but we thought it was important to refresh our understanding of the current research into the potential impact of font choices. So we did a little research into the matter and came back with some articles that offered surprising revelations of font legibility, readability, and users’ perception of them. Here’s a summary (with many thanks to David Chang, the newest member of the Catalyst team):
“The hallmarks of good text type are legibility and readability”, states an article in Before & After magazine, “how clear letters differentiate themselves from each other and how well they interact together to compose text.” With these two traits in mind, researchers at Wichita State University’s Software Usability Research Laboratory sought to find the ideal online font. Some of their findings:
- Participants had a greater preference for sans serif compared to serif fonts and read faster with size 9 and 10 fonts as opposed to 6, 7, and 8. (Tullis, Boynton and Hersch. 1995)
- Between specific serif (Times New Roman, Georgia) and sans serif (Tahoma) fonts, there were no significant differences in reading speed in fonts of the same size, 10-point in this case. Another study, “Examining the effects of font type and size on the legibility and reading time of online text by older adults” with Bernard, M., Liao, C. H., and Mills, M. supported this conclusion. (Boyarski, Neuwirth, Forlizzi and Regli. 1998)
- A test in 2001 using a wider range of fonts was conducted for effective reading speed, which included accuracy and perception of font legibility. Sans serif fonts proved more legible than ornate fonts in perceived font legibility. For example, Tahoma read significantly faster than Corsiva, an ornate font. (Bernard, Mills, Peterson and Storrer)
- “A Comparison of Popular Online Fonts: Which is Best and When?” tested 12 popular internet fonts with regard to reading speed, legibility, perceptions, and preferences. There were some variations in reading speed but no significant differences in legibility. Participants perceived Courier, Comic, Verdana, Georgia, and Times New Roman as most legible.
- A comparison of four sans serif and four serif fonts found no difference in effective reading speed between the two, though serifs were read faster. Interestingly with perceived legibility, participants thought New Times Roman, Georgia, and Verdana most legible, apparently not differentiating between serif and sans serif fonts. Overall, participants preferred the sans serif fonts Arial, Verdana, and Comic. (Bernard, Lida, Riley, Hackler & Janzen. 2002)
Participants also associated personalities to different fonts, with ornate sans serifs ones like Bradley and Corsiva described as elegant, while Times New Roman was portrayed as “business-like”. This observation is further explored in “Perception of Fonts: Perceived Personality Traits and Uses” by A. Dawn Shaikh, Barbara S. Chaparro, & Doug Fox.
Bottom line: there were no major differences between serif and sans serif fonts being read on a computer screen in terms of reading speed and legibility. Not suprisingly, fonts read easier when they are somewhat larger, and most people perceived sans serif fonts to be more legible. Beyond that, it appears that the effect of font on brand perception (i.e serif fonts being more “serious” or “newsy”) would seem to be an equally compelling basis for choosing a font as legibility or readability.
