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Subject:RE: Typeface for print and online documentation From:"Teasdale, Steven (IndSys,Pwr Mgt,UR)" <Steven -dot- Teasdale -at- indsys -dot- ge -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 16 Apr 2001 16:02:06 -0400
Lisa Bronson wrote:
However, I did some casual studies on my own in my first tech writing job
(after I tried to get them to change from Arial to Times, based on that
research, and got shot down... ha ha), and almost everyone I asked
preferred sans serif fonts, like Arial, over serif fonts. One woman who
worked in assembly said that the serif fonts were too light, and that made
them more difficult to read. I asked one of my professors about these
results, and she said that the research we were taught about was old (20
years at the time, 25 now). Things change, I guess. :-)
-------------------
Lisa:
This reference may provide some clarification.
In her excellent _Dynamics in Document Design_, Karen Schriver attempts to
demonstrate a relationship between document genre and serif/sans-serif font
preference. For example, she collected the following data from a sample
group:
For manuals: 81% preferred sans-serif; 9% preferred serif; 10% had no
preference
For stories: 28% preferred sans-serif; 51% preferred serif; 21% had no
preference
(other document genres were also analysed)
She then provides an in-depth and fascinating study of why this is the case
(including many interesting user observations). The relevant section of the
book is:
Schriver, Karen "The Role of Rhetorical Context in Shaping Readers'
Preferences for Type" in her _Dynamics in Document Design_. John Wiley:
1997. pp. 288-303.
Steven Teasdale
Technical Writer
GE Power Management
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