Designing legible fonts for distance reading

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Abstract

This chapter reviews existing knowledge on distance legibility of fonts, and finds that for optimal distance reading, letters and numbers benefit from relative wide shapes, open inner counters and a large x-height; fonts should further be widely spaced, and the weight should not be too heavy or too light. Research also indicates that serifs on the vertical extremes improve legibility under such reading conditions.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDigital Fonts and Reading : (Series on Computer Processing of Languages)
EditorsMary C. Dyson, Ching Y Suen
Volume1
PublisherWorld Scientific
Publication date2016
Pages79-93
Chapter5
ISBN (Print)978-981-4759-53-3
ISBN (Electronic)978-981-4759-55-7
Publication statusPublished - 2016
SeriesSeries on Language Processing, Pattern Recognition, and Intelligent Systems
Volume1

Keywords

  • typedesign
  • signage
  • fonts

Artistic research

  • No

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