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Message & Media : The Power of Typography

How to increase readibility with the proper typeface selection

May 2010 By Pat Friesen
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I guarantee this column is worth reading if you're responsible for using words to generate more clicks, calls or traffic through the door.

No, this isn't about writing copy. It's about increasing readership by increasing readability—the importance of the specific typefaces and fonts selected.

While I'm not a direct mail or Web page designer, I am a writer who knows the right people to ask for tips and techniques related to type.

So, my thanks up front to Patrick Fultz, an extraordinary direct mail designer who also teaches typography at New York City's Parsons School of Design; Bob Bly, the wizard of words no matter which typeface delivers them; Brent Niemuth, a master of merging words and design; and Kurt Medina, an expert on how to get things read by consumers older than 50.

Here are some of the tenets of typography they shared. Keep in mind: These rules are to be broken whenever you have a good reason for doing so.

• Select typefaces and fonts for their readability. For the record, a typeface is a set of fonts in the same family, such as Arial or Goudy. A font is a single kind of typeface, whether it is Times New Roman bold or Times New Roman in 10 point. For readability in print, this generally means using a serif typeface for body copy and sans serif for headlines, subheads and smaller pieces of copy, such as callouts or captions. Why?

Fultz explains it this way: Serif type has thick and thin lines with horizontal serifs that pull your eye across the page. Eyes love serif type for denser copy such as books, brochures, ads and magazines.

For example, if you're reading this column in the print version of Target Marketing, you're looking at Goudy, a tried-and-true serif typeface. Others include Times Roman, Palatino and Cheltenham. But Fultz says there are thousands more, and every type family has its own story. A designer who understands the power of typography can give you the details. And, as with all things related to direct response creative, details matter.

If you're reading this column online, you're probably looking at Arial, a classic sans serif typeface. I don't have space here to explain why it's common to see more sans serif than serif type online, even for dense copy. As you might guess, it has to do with technology and pixels. But as with everything digital, the typefaces being used online are changing. Other popular sans serif typefaces for print include Franklin Gothic, Futura, Frutiger and Avant Garde. Online you'll see Arial, Verdana and Calibri, to name a few.

 

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Most Recent Comments:
Carol Worthington-Levy - Posted on June 09, 2010
Great topic Pat. Thank you!!!

i can add a little bit to the article you've written.

First, anyone who is curious about this should make a point of purchasing Colin Wheildon's Type & Layout: are you communicating or just making pretty shapes?" It's the best $29 you'll ever spend if you want to really find out the details about response-effective typography.

FYI, some of the sans serif fonts you suggest are actually lower-comprehension because they're too stylized. For example, Avant garde is more stylized and actually a little wide for easy readership.

The studies i've seen indicate that the fonts that do best are a bit narrower than that - although certainly not condensed - and have a generous x-height (lower case is a little larger than with some other fonts.)

Reversing type out of black or another color can take comprehension down to less than 10% of what it would have been if dark type on light background. Running type over a photograph or other image will take comprehension as low as 10% because our eyes become distracted by the photo and we stop trying to read the copy.

This was all confirmed when I did the classes with Dr Siegfried Vogele in Montreux, too.

My big beef is the lack of BASIC COMMON SENSE in printed work and online today. Why in heaven's name would anyone consider orange or yellow or pale blue type on a web page? What in God's name would make people reverse type out of light blue or mint green? Or reverse out skinny type from black on newsprint - it becomes illegible.

This all seems like a no-brainer ... but designers design like this without thinking about legibility, and even more amazingly, their bosses and clients approve it.

Stop the madness! Take a stand, those who approve this stuff. If you, yourself, struggle to read it, it's simply not acceptable.

Much of comprehension of typography is really about how the rods and cones of the eyes function and send signals to the brain, In short, human physiology hasn't changed certainly over the course of our lifetime, and these rules or suggestions continue to stand as best practice.
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Archived Comments:
Carol Worthington-Levy - Posted on June 09, 2010
Great topic Pat. Thank you!!!

i can add a little bit to the article you've written.

First, anyone who is curious about this should make a point of purchasing Colin Wheildon's Type & Layout: are you communicating or just making pretty shapes?" It's the best $29 you'll ever spend if you want to really find out the details about response-effective typography.

FYI, some of the sans serif fonts you suggest are actually lower-comprehension because they're too stylized. For example, Avant garde is more stylized and actually a little wide for easy readership.

The studies i've seen indicate that the fonts that do best are a bit narrower than that - although certainly not condensed - and have a generous x-height (lower case is a little larger than with some other fonts.)

Reversing type out of black or another color can take comprehension down to less than 10% of what it would have been if dark type on light background. Running type over a photograph or other image will take comprehension as low as 10% because our eyes become distracted by the photo and we stop trying to read the copy.

This was all confirmed when I did the classes with Dr Siegfried Vogele in Montreux, too.

My big beef is the lack of BASIC COMMON SENSE in printed work and online today. Why in heaven's name would anyone consider orange or yellow or pale blue type on a web page? What in God's name would make people reverse type out of light blue or mint green? Or reverse out skinny type from black on newsprint - it becomes illegible.

This all seems like a no-brainer ... but designers design like this without thinking about legibility, and even more amazingly, their bosses and clients approve it.

Stop the madness! Take a stand, those who approve this stuff. If you, yourself, struggle to read it, it's simply not acceptable.

Much of comprehension of typography is really about how the rods and cones of the eyes function and send signals to the brain, In short, human physiology hasn't changed certainly over the course of our lifetime, and these rules or suggestions continue to stand as best practice.