Serif & sans serif fonts?

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

Mary Elaine Lora wondered: <<Do you use serif or sans-serif fonts for  
(1) printed documentation and (2) online documentation (i.e., PDF  
files)?  Can you give me links to authoritative articles on the  
readability of serif vs sans-serif?>>

The prevailing consensus is that serif is better for paper and sans  
serif is better for onscreen, but the reality is far more complex.  
For instance, a lousy (low-legibility) font is a lousy font,  
irrespective of whether it has or lacks serifs. And even a superbly  
legible font can be undermined if you use lousy typography (poor  
choice of color, contrast, size, kerning, leading, line width, etc.).  
Moreover, pretty much any typeface designed for reading (as opposed  
to display type) will work acceptably in both media if you understand  
the basics of typography. So you won't find any authoritative easy  
answer to your question.

All that I've read on this issue (for many, many years) suggests that  
all else being equal (i.e., assuming you've chosen a font designed to  
be legible), familiarity with a font is probably more important than  
the serif vs. sans serif issue. Karen Schriver is one of the leading  
lights who has studied this subject, and who has intensively reviewed  
the research literature on the subject for the past 20 years or so,  
and she has some interesting things to say on the topic. Based on her  
work, I can provide a simplistic answer  to your question: "onscreen,  
people tend to prefer sans serif type, but it doesn't offer any  
significant advantages for reading". But more importantly, if you're  
producing online information, why not let the readers choose the  
fonts? Preferences vary enormously, so why lock someone into your  
preference?

For details of Karen's work (and some excerpts from her upcoming  
book): http://www.stcsig.org/sc/newsletter/html/html2007-2.htm#editorial
(Scroll down to the heading "Gluing their eyes to your screen".)


----------------------------------------------------
-- Geoff Hart
ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
www.geoff-hart.com
--------------------------------------------------
***Now available***  _Effective onscreen editing_
(http://www.geoff-hart.com/home/onscreen-book.htm)


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