![]() One theory is that making the subjects work harder to read text forces them to focus on the text more acutely, engaging deeper parts of their brains than if they could simply breeze through it. Yes, information presented in a "harder-to-read" font - such as Comic Sans - was better remembered than the same information in easier-to-read type. Their research found a correlation between the effort it took to read text and the ability of subjects to remember that information for later testing. However, blogger Christian Jarret reports in Research Digest that studies by Connor Diemand-Yauman of the Princeton University Department of Psychology and his colleagues may call this assumption into question. It is often assumed that good typography is about clarity, that the text should be as easy to read as possible. Clarity Does not Always Lead to Understanding That's what text in Arial (or Helvetica on the Mac) is starting to feel like. It would be like a world of monotonous computerized voices. ![]() ![]() However, imagine a world where everyone sounded exactly the same, where every voice had the same tones and inflections. All too often we stick with the few fonts provided by our word processor, usually the default font, which is going to be the workhorse font Arial. Yet we spend very little time considering the font (or typeface) we use to communicate our messages. However, no matter how vital the content of the speech, a speaker who drones on clearly but monotonously is far less likely to make a lasting impression than someone who speaks with animation and purpose. Do you remember the content of that speech because it was compelling information or because the speaker spoke compellingly? It was probably a bit of both. Think about the last really great talk you listened to.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |