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Re: font preference

for

From: Terence de Giere
Date: May 15, 2002 3:21PM

It is generally thought that sans serif fonts work better on low
resolution displays, such as television (e.g. WebTV or MSNTV as it is
now called). However, The issue seems more complex when current CRT and
LCD displays are used. Both the typeface and the color of the typeface
and the background color on which the type is displayed appear to have a
big influence on readability.

The following URI's give some indication of research that has been done.
It would appear that certain combinations of font, font color and
background color (such as Courier typewriter style fonts on a medium
gray background, or a dark green Times style serif font on a light
yellow or buff background) may be as readable as black sans serif fonts
on a white background.

http://hubel.sfasu.edu/research/survreslts.html
http://psychology.wichita.edu/optimalweb/text.htm
http://hubel.sfasu.edu/research/AHNCUR.html

On a personal note (no research here!) I find Arial some what difficult
to read with browser default line spacing, but find it easier to read
with a little more space between lines added using CSS. If the line
spacing is too great it gets harder to read again.

Fonts with a high x-height also tend to be easier to read, especially in
smaller sizes. For example, Times New Roman has a higher x-height than
the older Times Roman or Times faces. Fonts designed for Web display,
such as Verdana, have a high x-height.

Terence de Giere
<EMAIL REMOVED>


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