Typography can either make your site look fabulous, or depict downright poor design sense.
We've all heard that content is king, but how you display the content on your site is just as important. It doesn't make sense if you article is awesome, but the readers can hardly go past the first line without straining their eyes!
When selecting between typography options, there are many things to keep in mind. In order to create a page on the web that provides smooth access to the content and presents it in an intelligible way, one must keep in mind some basics about typography.
The Two Indispensable Flavours
So, What’s Affecting Your Readability?
1. The Font You Use: A designer has the freedom to go with two safe choices – old-style serif and sans-serif. Most of the other categories of typeface have proven to be highly distracting. Serif faces are the most readable. Hence, most newspapers and books use serif fonts for the body copy. However on screen, sans-serif fonts (like Arial) are seen as a better option owing to easier readability.
2. Lower Case Vs. Upper Case: Understandably, text that is set in lowercase is always easy to read. When reading, we usually read in phrases and not letter by letter. Even the shape of a word becomes a factor in our recognition and the speed of reading. But when the text is set in all caps, each word looks like a rectangle.
3. Letter Spacing: It refers to the amount of space between letters (‘tracking’ and ‘kerning’) and the amount of space between words. Both are become major factors in how readable a body copy becomes.
4. Reverse Type: Reverse type is when light-colored type appears on black (or dark colored) background. It is very uncomfortable for the reader to read, and hence should be avoided at all costs, especially if you have a lot of content on your site.
Device Compatibility
Have you ever faced a situation where the font isn’t readable on your iPad, but it’s clear and comprehensible on your PC? This happens because the font is incompatible with your device, and It can be frustrating at times. So while you might give 11pt in the body and it works fine in small devices (smartphones), but when you open in the iPad (bigger device) 11pt might be too small for viewers.
So font size should be decided depending on device width and other compatibility features. We know that the two most common display screens are analog and digital. One can safely go with either, though both differ slightly. With the advent of LCD and the increasingly popular LED technology, cross-compatibility is becoming easier.
Yours Truly, Undoubtedly!
Good typography can make for a visually interesting form of communication and can be used very effectively to express and simplify information. It can also enhance understanding by making the process of reading intensely enjoyable.
Author Bio:
With a technical prowess, David White has enabled exhaustive understanding of the hosting industry over an expansive period of 15 years. Currently he works with Hosting Reviewed, providing critical analysis of various hosting companies listed.
We've all heard that content is king, but how you display the content on your site is just as important. It doesn't make sense if you article is awesome, but the readers can hardly go past the first line without straining their eyes!
When selecting between typography options, there are many things to keep in mind. In order to create a page on the web that provides smooth access to the content and presents it in an intelligible way, one must keep in mind some basics about typography.
The Two Indispensable Flavours
- Is It Legible?
- Is It Readable?
So, What’s Affecting Your Readability?
1. The Font You Use: A designer has the freedom to go with two safe choices – old-style serif and sans-serif. Most of the other categories of typeface have proven to be highly distracting. Serif faces are the most readable. Hence, most newspapers and books use serif fonts for the body copy. However on screen, sans-serif fonts (like Arial) are seen as a better option owing to easier readability.
2. Lower Case Vs. Upper Case: Understandably, text that is set in lowercase is always easy to read. When reading, we usually read in phrases and not letter by letter. Even the shape of a word becomes a factor in our recognition and the speed of reading. But when the text is set in all caps, each word looks like a rectangle.
3. Letter Spacing: It refers to the amount of space between letters (‘tracking’ and ‘kerning’) and the amount of space between words. Both are become major factors in how readable a body copy becomes.
4. Reverse Type: Reverse type is when light-colored type appears on black (or dark colored) background. It is very uncomfortable for the reader to read, and hence should be avoided at all costs, especially if you have a lot of content on your site.
Device Compatibility
Have you ever faced a situation where the font isn’t readable on your iPad, but it’s clear and comprehensible on your PC? This happens because the font is incompatible with your device, and It can be frustrating at times. So while you might give 11pt in the body and it works fine in small devices (smartphones), but when you open in the iPad (bigger device) 11pt might be too small for viewers.
So font size should be decided depending on device width and other compatibility features. We know that the two most common display screens are analog and digital. One can safely go with either, though both differ slightly. With the advent of LCD and the increasingly popular LED technology, cross-compatibility is becoming easier.
Yours Truly, Undoubtedly!
Good typography can make for a visually interesting form of communication and can be used very effectively to express and simplify information. It can also enhance understanding by making the process of reading intensely enjoyable.
Author Bio:
With a technical prowess, David White has enabled exhaustive understanding of the hosting industry over an expansive period of 15 years. Currently he works with Hosting Reviewed, providing critical analysis of various hosting companies listed.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
You comment will be Approved By Moderator.