Readability Matters is an organization whose goals include researching and promoting tools and techniques to increase the speed, comprehension and enjoyment of reading. They focus on individual readers’ needs, not on a best-fit-for-all-readers approach.
MAX is Adobe’s annual conference, focusing on uses for the software they make. Typography is one tool that is available in multiple Adobe products, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat and InDesign. Two sessions at the 2021 MAX conference zeroed in on the effect of font options on readability and comprehension. The presenters from both sessions, even those from Adobe, are all associated with Readability Matters.
In the first session (One Font Doesn’t Fit All), a pair of academics from different institutions showcased the work they have done in the field of font options and their effect on readability and comprehension. In a nutshell, the research indicates that font decisions can impact the speed and comprehension of our reading.
In the second session (Creating Value with Personalized Readability Formats), two font experts looked at similar research and showed some of the ways in which variable fonts are currently being used on the web and how they can be personalized for each individual reader.
Discover your personal font preferences at the Virtual Readability Lab!
Wiebke Kuhn
Thanks for this, Doug – so, based on these presentations, what would be your recommendations for web font types?