Today there are two main types of texts: printed and electronic. Each of them has its own design tricks designed to increase the ease of perception. You can make the text readable by using the same tools for both electronic publications and printed products. However, you need to use them in different ways.
Instructions
Step 1
To make the text readable and convenient for assimilation of the information contained in it, special formatting and the font used help. For example, in texts intended for printing on paper, professional copywriters recommend using serif fonts. Serifs are small raised dashes in letters. This type includes, perhaps, the most popular and widespread font - Times new Roman. Another font suitable for reading from paper is Georgia. In addition to the font used, formatting makes it easier to read printed text and its location on the page. Depending on the type of text, the requirements for its design also change, such as alignment along the edges, sparsity, red line indents, spacing, etc.
Step 2
To increase the digestibility and ease of reading of the electronic text, other techniques are used. This is due, first of all, to the peculiarities of the perception of web pages. Behavioral studies have shown that each site visitor, when reading:
• has some general discomfort;
• reads more slowly than usual;
• does not read, but scans the page.
Therefore, when deciding how to make the text readable, you should simplify its perception by the user. According to research by the US Visual Ergonomics Laboratory, the most suitable font for screen reading is Verdana 10-12 point size. Tahoma is also suitable.
Step 3
For web texts, special formatting techniques are also used to make the text readable:
• Indentation between paragraphs;
• Use of subheadings;
• No indentation of the red line;
• Use bulleted and numbered lists for enumerations.
