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Friday, 27 May 2005 | So what is the best font online?
While cleaning out my emails I stumbled upon a link that a colleague sent me a while ago, it linked to an article titled "A comparison of popular online fonts: which size ad type is best".
As a website designer who has a slight obsession with typography. I find articles such as this really exciting. Sad I know but I like to think of myself as passionate about what I do and not at all geeky, (well maybe just a little). Anyway I was pleased to see that Verdana was at the top of the list for most readable font online followed by Tahoma. Both these fonts were specifically designed for screen use so it's not surprising to see that the test results lean in their favour.
What I found really interesting was that the readability of sizes 10pt and 12pt where about the same. I thought 12pt would come out a clear winner since im constantly hearing that most users prefer larger fonts, although i lean towards the smaller fonts mostly for space efficiency and also for aesthetic value.
Sans serif fonts were also preferred over serif fonts in body copy. That was no surprise although i like using serifs for titles and other smaller text areas, and in particular if its suits the brand. If done well a combination of both can be visually successful, but it also depends on spacing, white space, contrast amongst many other elements.
Older adults preferred 14pt serif fonts! My worst nightmare on a site where I'm fighting for space and trying to fit everything above the fold line! This is were my aesthetically driven side of the brain fights with the logical more user centric side and offcourse the later wins.
Ultimately it really depends on who you are designing for. There's no point in designing a beautiful website at 10pt that is aimed at 60 year olds. The web just doesn't come with a complimentary magnifying glass.
When it comes to displaying text in the appropriate font size, there are alternatives that can please both younger and older audience groups. Sites like the International Herald Tribune and Sydney Morning Herald allow users to select their own font size, providing the user with the best viewing experience possible!
Anyway enough of my ramblings have a read of the article-http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/41/onlinetext.htm
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