“Sans serif” fonts do not have these small finishing strokes.Īscenders and descenders 2. “Serifs” are the small finishing strokes on the end of a character. There are many elements in the design of a typeface which can contribute to its legibility. But the most legible of types can be made unreadable if it is set to too wide a measure, or in too large or too small a size for a particular purpose.( Dowding 1957, p.5 in Lund, 1999 ) Typographical features Readability however concerns the optimum arrangement and layout of whole bodies of text:Īn illegible type, set it how you will, cannot be made readable. Legibility is concerned with the very fine details of typeface design, and in an operational context this usually means the ability to recognise individual letters or words. Part 2 reviews the evidence for and against the legibility of serif and sans serif typefaces. Part 1 provides typographical definitions. IntroductionĪn argument has been raging for decades within the scientific and typographic communities on what seems a very insignificant issue: Do serifs contribute to the legibility of typefaces, and by definition, are sans serif typefaces less legible? To date, no one has managed to provide a conclusive answer to this issue. In 2003 as part of my master’s degree I reviewed over 50 empirical studies in typography and found a definitive answer.

Was it the case that sans serif fonts were more legible, or was it just a matter of taste? See my expanded critique of Colin Wheildon’s legibility research.īack in 1998 when Times New Roman was still widely used on the web, my then boss made sure we always designed our web sites with Arial, as she hated the look of serif fonts on the web.

Serif vs sans serif body text