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 HELP
YOUR SITE PRESENT ITS BEST TYPEFACE. Font size, style and format work together to create an
overall impression.
Type.
In the larger scheme of web design and all its entails - graphics,
video sound, animations, interactive forms and so on - type
seems like such a small insignificant thing. Small thing,
yes. Insignificant, hardly. Few things can derail a site's
accessibility and usability more than its typography. Regardless
of the whizbangs and prize-worthy design that may be on your
site, none of it (and we'll emphasize this none of it) matters
if the typeface doesn't display properly, is difficult to
read, or isn't widely used. Your page design begins with your
typography decisions and progresses from there. When you talk
about typography on the web, you are talking about three things,
typeface, type size and type color.
Serif
fonts
Serif fonts such as Times
New Roman and Book Antiqua,
have little "tails" at the ends of each character
stroke that lead a reader's eye from character to character,
increasing reading speed. The fact that books, newspapers
and magazines use serif typefaces is no accident. There are
dozens of studies that document how much easier serif fonts
are to read for large quantities of text.
Sans
Serif fonts
Fonts such as Arial, Helvetica and Verdana don't have these
tails and as a result, reading is difficult for long passages
of text because the eye isn't moved from character to character
and reading speed decreases as the text begins to "blur" in
front of the reader. These fonts are, however, exceptionally
good for headlines, subheads and table headings, which have
shorter line lengths.
But
I favor other fonts
Some people prefer to use different fonts, such as Georgia
and Verdana,
two of
the most popular "other" fonts. Since not everyone
has every font on every computer, using an HTML tag such as
<font face=Georgia,
Verdana,
Arial, Helvetica> will help solve the problem. If someone
has Georgia,
that's what they'll see, if they don't have Georgia,
but have Verdana, that's what they'll see. If they are on
a Mac and don't have Georgia or Verdana, they will see Arial.
The fancier
the font, the more it should be limited to logos or banners
or for use as part of an image. Using a fancy, specialized
font may look good to you, because that font may be installed
on your computer, but if 100,000 potential clients of yours
don't have that font installed on their computer, your website
may not display correctly on their computer screens.
Typefaces
carry their own unique subliminal emotional power. Arial
creates a clean, current up-with-the-times image, while Times
New Roman creates a stable, established, conservative
image. Other typefaces may remind readers of a Peanuts cartoon
strip (Comic Sans) or theatre
signs (Playbill).
Sizing
it up
The rules regarding type size are a little more cut and dry.
For text paragraphs, you shouldn't use anything smaller than
10 point type; for headings, use 12
point type or larger. As with your typeface selection,
consider your audience and its own needs in terms of accessibility.
Try to avoid using 8 point type
(except for copyright notices, etc.)
The
allure of color
Selecting a type color can be further complicated by a colored
background. As
a rule, you will want to avoid putting text on patterned
backgrounds, including fine lines and stripes, because it
will make text
difficult to read. Here are some simple rules to follow:
• The best
color for text is black. If you can't use black, use a
dark color.
• The best background color is white, or a very light
color.
• If you do use a dark background with light text, use
it sparingly and make sure the text is large and bold enough
to see clearly or it will "disappear" into the
background.
Typography
resources
The Adobe Type Library
http://www.adobe.com/type/main.html
Jacob
Nielsen, Web usage guru
www.useit.com
The Design
and Publishing Center
www.graphic-design.com
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