Typeface Spacing Categories Monospaced all characters receive an equal amount of horizontal space regardless – of the size of the character. Harder to read than proportional fonts Provide an advantage in math and programming languages because the spacebar can be used to align characters in monospaced Proportional all characters receive a different amount of horizontal space based on – the size of the character. Easier to read in body text Disadvantage - the spacebar cannot be used for alignment because the characters do not all have the same amount of horizontal space. Must use tabs for alignment. Usability and Readability Considerations Font choice has an impact on a design’s – effectiveness Font choice should convey the meaning or personality that matches the purpose of the design Examples: Sympathy Card Script – Flyer Heading Ornamental – Font choice should give visual about the order text should be read Visual Hierarchy - an arrangement of text in a graduated series to help readers scan and know where to enter and exit the text Create hierarchy through changes in weight, scale, positioning, color, tone, spacing, or font Examples: Main headings larger than subheadings Using bold, italics, and color for emphasis Most important information at the top of a web page Font choice should be limited to 2 or 3 fonts Too many font choices can be distracting Do not mix 2 fonts from the same category Example: Times New Roman for a heading and Palatino for a subheading; 2 serif fonts Consider the target audience Examples: Young readers need fonts that accurately display letters. The lowercase in “a” Arial is not displayed the way young readers learn to write the letter making “a” the font difficult to read Clearview font for highway signs drivers need fonts that can be read at a – distance Consider the medium Test the typeface to see if it is legible for the intended output, – whether digital or in print Test the Size the vertical height of a character – Suggested body text for is 10-12 points Suggested body text for the web is 15-25 pixels Test the Style bold, italic, fill color, stroke color, shadow, small caps – Use to add emphasis or improve readability Test the Spacing Leading vertical spacing between of lines of text – Kerning horizontal spacing between pairs of letters –
Typeface Spacing Categories Monospaced – all characters receive an equal amount of horizontal space regardless of the size of the character. Harder to read than proportional fonts Provide an advantage in math and programming languages because the spacebar can be used to align characters in monospaced Proportional – all characters receive a different amount of horizontal space based on the size of the character. Easier to read in body text Disadvantage - the spacebar cannot be used for alignment because the characters do not all have the same amount of horizontal space. Must use tabs for alignment. Usability and Readability Considerations – Font choice has an impact on a design’s effectiveness Font choice should convey the meaning or personality that matches the purpose of the design Examples: Sympathy Card – Script Flyer Heading – Ornamental Font choice should give visual about the order text should be read Visual Hierarchy - an arrangement of text in a graduated series to help readers scan and know where to enter and exit the text Create hierarchy through changes in weight, scale, positioning, color, tone, spacing, or font Examples: Main headings larger than subheadings Using bold, italics, and color for emphasis Most important information at the top of a web page Font choice should be limited to 2 or 3 fonts Too many font choices can be distracting Do not mix 2 fonts from the same category Example: Times New Roman for a heading and Palatino for a subheading; 2 serif fonts Consider the target audience Examples: Young readers need fonts that accurately display letters. The lowercase “a” in Arial is not displayed the way young readers learn to write the letter “a” making the font difficult to read Clearview font for highway signs – drivers need fonts that can be read at a distance Consider the medium – Test the typeface to see if it is legible for the intended output, whether digital or in print Test the Size – the vertical height of a character Suggested body text for is 10-12 points Suggested body text for the web is 15-25 pixels Test the Style – bold, italic, fill color, stroke color, shadow, small caps Use to add emphasis or improve readability Test the Spacing Leading – vertical spacing between of lines of text Kerning – horizontal spacing between pairs of letters