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Readability and legibility – getting your message out there successfully

As a graphic design company readability and legibility are two key ways we assess work, they’re also core considerations when our team is creating work for our clients. Because for us graphic design is not just about creating something which is easy on the eye, it’s about communicating a message.

In our previous post on typefaces and fonts we looked at choosing a type family for your brand, or campaign and what you need to consider when making your choice. Beyond personal style preferences, two key considerations are readability and legibility.

Understanding that difference between them and the importance of both can help you make better decisions when you are creating a report, leaflet, poster, website or campaign.

So, what is readability?

Readability is about how easy a piece of content is to take in its entirety, the speed and ease with which someone can read what’s been written.

It takes into account the whole, whether that be the whole poster or the whole publication, as readability is not just about the type used, but also the the page layout and how text has been set out – how have titles and headers been used for instance.

It is not limited to the font you have chosen therefore. Factors which go into how readable something is include line length, spacing, hierarchy, contrast, alignment, headings, subheadings and the way information is broken up.

A readable design helps the reader’s eye move naturally through the content. It gives the reader clear entry points and makes it obvious what matters most.

For example, a long report with well-structured headings, sensible margins and short paragraphs is easier to read than a densely packed page of uninterrupted text, even if both use the same typeface.

And for the same reason, for the sake of readability, we advise caution when it comes to using justified text.

And, what is legibility?

Legibility meanwhile is narrower in scope than readability.

It refers to how easy it is for someone to distinguish one letter from another, and one word from the next. In other words, can your audience actually recognise the characters quickly and accurately?

Legibility is affected by things like typeface design, font size, weight, case, spacing and contrast.

A highly legible typeface helps people take in information with minimal effort. That is especially important where clarity matters most, such as public information, educational materials, healthcare communications, annual reports or signage. If people have to work too hard to identify the words, the message gets lost.

This is not to say you always want the plainest type, if you’re putting together an informational campaign then absolutely yes you want your type to be as legible as possible. However, if you’re putting together a brand campaign designed to challenge the viewer then you might deliberately choose a type which isn’t so legible so as to make people stop and take notice.

It’s therefore important, as ever, to take a step back and try and view what you’re doing from the perspective of your target audience.

All these factors and more need to be taken into account when developing a piece of work.

Good design takes into account purpose

Readability and legibility sound like technical design terms, but they’re worth understanding as they get to the heart of what good communication design is meant to do.

When you understand them and know how to leverage the elements which go into them them you can best ensure you message lands as you want it to. You don’t want people to have to fight the design to access the message you’re trying to get across, unless you’re deliberately being provocative.

That is why these principles matter so much to us. Because design is not only about expression. It is about making sure your message is seen, understood and remembered. To get our experts on the case for your business get in touch today.