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The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web

webtypography.net

41–44 of 44 posts

Re: The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web

#43
post #37

I thought a general rule was to use sans-serif fonts on electronic devices and serif fonts in print, because they are repsectively easier on the eye? This site - and other similar "web typography" sites - seems to immediately fall foul of that by using serif fonts. In my opinion this makes them less comfortable to read.

The common wisdom was that serif fonts are difficult to faithfully reproduce on the relatively low resolution screens that computers have. But as devices have gotten better resolutions, this rationale doesn’t make as much sense anymore. That fact doesn’t stop some people from repeating the old mantra.

It's not just about reproduction, but composition, as well; the referenced site uses far too many words per line, at too small a font, to be reasonable legible (it's actually a perfect object lesson of what NOT to do).

Sans serif font faces, on the other hand, manage to be readable at smaller sizes, and even more so on modern anti-aliased displays, where they support a greater number of words per line.

Lest it seem that I am biased, serif fonts continue to be the best option for so-called "display" purposes (i.e., short line length such as headlines), as well as for subtractive, engravure-based applications such as stone, metal or wood; in these applications, sans serif fonts fail to provide a reasonable sight line.

Re: The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web

#44
post #9

Choice of colors makes it very difficult to read, even on a 4k display.

Really? I don't like the subtle skeuomorph of trying to make it look like a book, but the colors seem benign. What problem are you seeing?

Bright white on red is blury on both a 4k display and on a 1080p display.
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