Exploring the effect of layout on reading from screen

  • Mary C Dyson
  • Gary J Kipping
Part II: Common RIDT'98 and EP'98 Session Lgibility and Typpgraphy
First Online:
Part of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (LNCS, volume 1375)

Abstract

This paper briefly examines the nature of information available to people designing for the screen and proposes that applied research into factors that affect the legibility of text on screen is required. Comparisons of reading from paper and screen do not identify the optimal typographic conditions for reading from screen, and it may be more fruitful to abandon such comparisons. A series of experiments that investigate the effect of typographic layout on reading from screen are summarised. The description aims to be accessible to practitioners and therefore to provide a basis for informed design decisions. The inappropriateness of formulating simple guidelines is illustrated by the results of these experiments. Peoples' subjective views of what are the easiest layouts to read are not those read fastest.

Keywords

Window Size Line Length Reading Speed Reading Rate Longe Line 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1998

Authors and Affiliations

  • Mary C Dyson
    • 1
  • Gary J Kipping
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Typography & Graphic CommunicationThe University of ReadingWhiteknightsEngland

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