- #IS 4. LUCIDA SANS UNICODE A SERIF OR SANS SERIF PC#
- #IS 4. LUCIDA SANS UNICODE A SERIF OR SANS SERIF WINDOWS#
"g" and &") considered too unusual for some readers, especially if literacy is an issue.Īvailable from Microsoft. Good x-height, but some letterforms (e.g. Some typographers prefer Helvetica, but the two are generally similar.Īvailable from Microsoft.
#IS 4. LUCIDA SANS UNICODE A SERIF OR SANS SERIF WINDOWS#
Some letterforms can be confused.Ī Windows analogue to Helvetica. Available on Mac, Unix and newer versions of Windows. Designed for monitors by Microsoft.Īdditional Fonts of Reasonable Legibility Highly Recommended Fonts Fontsĭesigned for monitors by Microsoft.
#IS 4. LUCIDA SANS UNICODE A SERIF OR SANS SERIF PC#
Fonts are available on both PC and Mac unless otherwise specified. Font Samplesīelow is a list of fonts with notes on the legibility of each. A related concept is tracking, or the width between adjacent letters. You may also want to check narrow letters such as lowercase i and j to see how legible they are. One way to check width is to examine the letters x and o. Generally speaking, wider fonts are more legible than narrower fonts (within reason). Weight can assist with legibility because it darkens letters, but too much weight, such as in Arial Black, can make a font unsuitable for body text. Some fonts, such as Verdana, are designed with more weight than others, such as Palatino. Weight is a measure of a letterform’s thickness in comparison to its height. Ideally, each letter or number form will be distinct. Potentially problematic characters include capital I, number 1 and lowercase l (L), as well as 0 (zero) and capital O. Distinguishing Ambiguous CharactersĪnother factor in legibility is how well-distinguished similar characters are. Generally speaking the higher the x-height in relation to a capital letter, the more legible the font is likely to be.
Letters with ascenders include lowercase b, d, h, and k, and those with descenders include p, q, g, and j. Letters used to measure x-height include lowercase x, o, a, r, m, and s. The x-height of a font is the height of any lowercase letter without ascenders or descenders. If you specify a font in a CSS, you should include alternate backup fonts whenever possible. Also, if your audience contains a lot of Unix users, be aware that their font selection can be different from that of Windows and Mac. Microsoft fonts are generally good choices, but some may be more recent than others, and therefore less common. The ideal font is one that is available to many members of the audience. However, advances in display technology can allow for more serif fonts to be used on the Web (if the audience is using recent operating systems and browsers). A lot of detail useful in print was lost in the transition to computer monitors. Sans-serif fonts such as Verdana and Arial were originally recommended over serif fonts like Times New Roman, because monitors were not able to render fonts with serifs very accurately. Monospace fonts can be serif ( Courier New) or sans-serif ( Andale Mono or Monaco ). Monospace: Each letter has the same width.Examples include Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, and Lucida Grande (Mac)/Lucida Sans Unicode (PC). Sans serif font: Strokes do not extend out from the top or bottom of the letterform.Examples include Georgia, Times New Roman, and Palatino. Serif: Strokes extend out from the top and/or bottom of the letterforms.These fonts should be sparingly used in headers and decorative text:īelow are some factors that can be considered when selecting a legible font.
These fonts are also legible in many dimensions: These fonts are highly recommended for legibility:
Below is a list of recommended fonts and fonts which should be used sparingly.