Serif or Sans-Serif? What Science Says

Today, a subject that’s often high on personal preference but low on science.

Background #1:
Serif typefaces have small finishing strokes or extensions at the ends of letters. Sans-serif* ones, like what you are reading right now, don’t.

Background #2:
In yesterday’s note about legibility vs. readability, we learned that legibility* is about immediate recognition of letters, while readability* is about paragraph reading comfort over time.

There have been various studies since 2000 that measured reading speed*, comprehension, and fatigue across different typefaces. In text that has been laid out well, there is no consistent, significant difference in reading or comprehension between serif and sans-serif. Variations in layout, lighting, and contrast are more influential than typeface* choice.

Let me repeat: serif and sans-serif typefaces are equally readable, scientifically speaking.

​The differences between them only come out in extreme cases of legibility. These are when a short text has to be legible from a distance, very small, low-resolution, at high speed, in darkness or smoke, or to ensure safety. In those cases, sans-serif text is slightly more legible than serif, according to research (and is usually legally required anyway).

Here’s the thing:

Serif and sans-serif are equally readable. The exception is situations like safety signage, where sans-serif is slightly better.

Warmly,
Jonathan

P.S. What were all those asterisks about? An experiment in linking jargon words to the MtM Glossary. Opinions welcome. :)

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MtM Word of the Day:
Serif. A small line or curve attached to the ends of a typographic letterform, for example, on either side of the base of a capital "T" in a serif typeface like Times New Roman. A sans-serif typeface, such as Arial, for example, doesn't have them.