Most of us use text every day, yet we receive little guidance on how best to present it. Often, we default to the settings programs like Word provide, but these are rarely optimal. Below are 5 tips to ensure your text is effortlessly readable.
font
We often pick fonts based on their overall feel and our personal favourites. Nevertheless, it is important to consider what each font was created for. Calibri, for instance, has been designed for screens and will always shine on a website or digital document. However, when converting pixels to ink, it simply won’t look as good as something like Garamond.
I recommend a quick Google search to gain insight into a font’s creation and intended use to always get the most out of it.
Calibri
Garamond
text size
In print, body text should sit between 6–12 pt (point). Anything above size 12 is no longer considered body text.
When selecting text sizes for web or digital applications, you’ll need to go larger (somewhere between 14–24 px). For example, the text you’re reading now is set at approximately size 20 (the text is set to scale based on your screen size).
Regardless of the application, remember to take the font’s unique proportions into account, as each font will be optically different at the same point size.
Text sizing is all about balance. We’re often aware of making text too small to read; however, the same applies in reverse. We want letters to hang together as cohesive words, lines, and paragraphs. When our text is too large, our brain begins to focus on individual letters, and paragraphs become tedious to read. Aim for even typographic colour—this refers to the overall shade of grey (black text on a white background) perceived by the eye.
Despite being the same size, these two fonts are optically different
text alignment
Left-aligned text is always easiest to read. The flush lines on the left give our brain a predictable place to start reading, while the varying line lengths on the right help to distinguish one line from the next.
Justified text can read well when crafted carefully. However, this alignment tends to create ‘rivers’ (when spacing between words is optically larger than line height). A skilled typographer can fix this by manipulating the words so there are no gaps. Due to the flexibility of the web, it is hard to craft exactly where words will sit, making it impossible to ensure there are no rivers. Therefore, it’s best to avoid justified text on the web and allow a professional typographer to carefully set your justified text for you.
Centred text proves too unpredictable to read for long periods without strain, so stick to short bits of information, like headings and one-off paragraphs.
Justidied text poorly set with rivers
Justified text with even typographic colour
line length
Unfortunately, the landscape layout of screens has popularised excessively long lines of text. Lines should be around 10 words or 60 characters long, which may look remarkably shorter than what you’re used to. If lines are too long, reading will become tedious for our eyes. Have you ever accidentally reread the same line of text?—an overly long line is often the culprit. This means body text probably won’t span the entire A4 sheet or web page. This is a good thing, as white space allows content to breathe and helps our brains focus.
Sometimes, we are bound by the technology we are using, which may dictate our line length. If we are stuck using longer lines, we can turn to our next tip to help compensate.
Around 10 words per line—ideal!
line height
Line height (or ‘leading’ in typographic terms) is the space between lines of text. Line height should be set to 3–4 points more than your font size. So 10 pt text should have a line height of 13 or 14 pt.
You should never go below 2 points for body text, as you risk lines touching and creating visual claustrophobia. The exception to this rule is headings, where going much less is okay and often necessary.
If confronted with longer lines of text, you’ll need to be more generous with your line height. You can go up to 10 points more than your font size before your text stops hanging together as a cohesive paragraph.
