The Readability Factor
I’ve had to let subscriptions to two beloved magazines (The New Yorker and the Economist) lapse for the simple reason that reading them hurts my eyes. Since vision impairments increase with age, time spent using legible design and typography will more than pay for themselves in increased audience response when communicating with the over‐45 market.
One tip: maximize contrast between the typography and the background. Reason: a greater amount of contrast makes it easier to distinguish an image. This is especially true for the contrast in color between text and paper.
As for type size: yes, older readers prefer large type. But type style also matters. Avoid ornate typefaces and overuse of italics. Choose a serif type. A bit more spacing between lines also enhances readability. Avoid extensive use of ALL CAPS and type reversing out of a solid or screen.
Indenting paragraphs and use of Standard Capitalization improve reading, as do smaller blocks of copy, shorter lines of type, and more paragraphs.
Source: Writing That Works, 1/9/08
One tip: maximize contrast between the typography and the background. Reason: a greater amount of contrast makes it easier to distinguish an image. This is especially true for the contrast in color between text and paper.
As for type size: yes, older readers prefer large type. But type style also matters. Avoid ornate typefaces and overuse of italics. Choose a serif type. A bit more spacing between lines also enhances readability. Avoid extensive use of ALL CAPS and type reversing out of a solid or screen.
Indenting paragraphs and use of Standard Capitalization improve reading, as do smaller blocks of copy, shorter lines of type, and more paragraphs.
Source: Writing That Works, 1/9/08
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