Typography Legibility
BackgroundLegibility is the ability of the reader to decipher the text. In order to do this there has to be clear differences in the elements and it has to be easily decoded by the eye. Learning to design with type is difficult.
Guidelines:
capitals - Cognitive overloadWhen text is put in all capitals (caps) then it suggests the message is more authoritative, dominant and loud.
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING CAN BE BAD. FOR INSTANCE, MAKING THE BODY COPY ALL CAPS MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO READ. ALL CAPS TENDS TO BE HARDER TO READ THAN lower case. because lower case creates a more recognizable shape to the words. In the Figure below, the design is using all caps and little or no white space, making legibility poor (normally this would be bad design) but then that is part of the message (making this good design).
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PurposeType needs to be easily read to be processed quickly by the reader - if they have to work to read it, they may not read it at all.
Type DepthGiving type depth can make text pop off the screen.
However, too much of a good thing and it begins to impact legibility as illustrated in the paragraph below:
Vertical TextA
v o i d p l a c i n g letters vertically. It takes longer for the reader to decode text in that orientation - it is no longer in a recognizable horizontal shape. ConclusionConsider carefully the legibility of text in your visual designs - as legibility increases so will the communicative power of your message.
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