Whether or not you’re a graphic designer, it’s important to be aware of how easy it is to read your work. Visual impairments like color blindness and cognitive impairments like dyslexia can make it more difficult to parse out written information, especially when the text was formatted without regard to those users needs.
Important information should be perceptible
Small type, low contrast, and busy or confusing layouts can be harder for people with disabilities to understand. Not everything in a composition needs to be widely perceptible, but important information can be made more legible.
- Type needs to be large enough that people with different vision impairments can read it without eye strain.
- The color choice should contrast enough that it will be legible in greyscale.
- Layouts should be clear in hierarchy and sequence, ideal for focus and understanding.
User needs depend on the context and audience, as a restaurant menu, a children’s book, and a novel will all be read in different contexts.
Basic Typesetting
Typesetting is how you place letters on a page. Well set type can mean the difference between a pleasant reading experience and a tiring or frustrating one. The best practices of typesetting are made to reduce eye fatigue.
Font Choice
Choose a font that is simple and easy to read for long periods of text.
Verdana
Lucida Grande/Lucida Sans
Tahoma
Georgia
Palatino
Accessibility at Penn State recommends these fonts, among others.
Line Length
Line length is the number of characters in a line of text. Anywhere between 45 and 75 characters per line is comfortable to read.
Fonts.com discusses line length more in depth.
Text Alignment
Text is easiest read when aligned on the left. Centered or right aligned text can be useful for headlines, but gets tiring after a while. Fully justified text can be legible when set with attention, but tends to be trickier to pull off.
Left aligned type is also called flush left ragged right.
Right aligned type is similarly called flush right ragged left.
Centered text is self explanatory.
Justified text stretches from one edge to the other, adding spacing between words.
Thinking With Type has a detailed guide on how to use text alignments successfully.
Illustrations Help Users Concentrate
Long blocks of text can test anyone’s attention span, but are more difficult for those with cognitive impairments like Attention Deficit Disorder. Illustrations can also aid understanding for people whose memory and reading comprehension are impaired.
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