OUGD404: Legibility and Readabilty

Legibility and Readability, what's the difference?

Legibility 

How easy it is to distinguish one glyph/letter from another Legibility describes the design of a typeface. How legible a typeface is designed to be depends on its purpose. Legible typefaces usually have larger closed or open inner spaces (counters). They generally have a larger x-height, though not too large. Things that affect the legibility of a letter form include the kerning, leading, tracking, the counter size, and the origin of the font (Gothic, Script, Block, Roman).

Readability 

How easy words, phrases, and blocks of text can be read. Readability describes how a typeface is used on the page. Good typography (more readable) encourages a desire to read the copy and reduces the effort required to read and comprehend the type. The reader shouldn’t even notice the type. She should simply understand the words. Things that can affect readability include typeface choices, the distance at which something is read/the size of the type, as well as kerning, tracking and leading. 

During the session we compared the legibility and readability of fonts from the four type categories; roman, gothic, block and script, all reading the same message: the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. We also went on to consider which context they'd be most suited in. 

My four fonts were:

Roman: Baskerville
Gothic: Century Gothic
Block: Britannica Bold
Script: Bello Script

When discussing the legibility of these fonts I found my most legible and readable font was Baskerville in lowercase, and my most difficult to read was the Uppercase Bello Script. When comparing the results with my other class mates we discovered that on a whole that the most legible and readable fonts were the gothic and the roman and the hardest to read were the block and script fonts.

Upon further discussion it was suggested that roman and gothic fonts were more suited in the context of body text and that script and block were the more decorative fonts- better suited for headers or signs, something where the intention is to catch the eye rather than pure communication. 

TASK
We then cut up our sentences and arranged them in such an order that they should be read in the correct order by what catches you eye first. 

To extend this exercise we were then asked to arrange the layout and size of the fonts in squares so that the sentence read in the correct order by what caught your eye first.