Is TYPE driving your audience away?
A recent article on a trade blog that I subscribe to addressed the issues of legibility and readability in type. These are important factors when designing any marketing materials. They can be extremely critical in the successful communication of the message.
Although these two traits might seem to address the same issue, they actually are different. Legibility refers to the design of the typeface, while readability refers to how the typeface is set.
The factors that affect legibility include x-height, character shapes, stroke contrast, the size of its counters, and weight. All of these factors relate to the ability to differentiate one letter from another. This is an extremely important consideration in text designs where a more legible a typeface holds the reader’s attention for a longer time.
A display typeface may have a poor legibility, but in the small number of words for which it is used, it is meant to convey a mood or a feeling. In these cases, legibility may not be important.
Figure 1. ITC Johann Sparking, a powerful handwriting design, is not the most legible of typefaces, especially when set for blocks of copy in small sizes, but its readability increases when set larger for just a couple of words. From the Gettysburg Address.
When setting type, a designer must adjust size, line spacing, letter spacing, words spacing, line length, and alignment. If the type is poorly set then even a legible typeface can be made unreadable. Conversely, a typeface with low legibility can be made more readable through careful typesetting.
Figure 2. Even a legible typeface, such as ITC Flora, can lose readability when set too large with a tight line-spacing. Readability is further hindered by the relatively short line length due to the large size. By setting the type smaller with more line spacing, readability is dramatically improved. From Peter Pan by J. Barrie.
Before the advent of desktop publishing tools, type was set by a specialist called a typesetter. These people understood all of the rules necessary to make sure that type was properly set to maximize readability and in the selection of appropriately legible type. It is now important that your designer understand these same skills so that your message is read and not discarded in frustration.
Read “Type Talk: Say What?” at CreativePro.com
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