Re: Font Type/Size for online help?

["David Godley" <david -at- petroglyph -dot- com -dot- au>]

>Katie Kearns wrote:
> I would like to know about the font type/size
>that is best suitable for online help.
>
> Is Verdana better than Arial for online help?
> 
>(As to Arial vs Verdana? I like Arial better. Not
>sure if there are studies  out there to justify it. :D)
>> 
>
>According to an article at
>http://website-design.mcdar.net/13740.php,
>Verdana is preferred for online reading, with a
>font called
>Georgia considered even better. (We'll hope that
>the misuse of the apostrophe in "its" is not an indicator of 
>other research problems :-> )

Just to throw a cat into the pidgeons...

I was indirectly associated with a little study that showed that the conventional wisdom that using a Sans Serifs font for online content improved readability and information retention is nowhere near as clear cut as it once was.  High resolution monitors, text anti-aliasing techniques and the like have significantly blurred the boundaries of what works and what doesn't.  

As for font sizes... ensure you use CSS and set relative font sizes rather than absolute ones.  It puts the control of display back with the user and improves general accesibility.


David Godley
david -at- petroglyph -dot- com -dot- au

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