Legibility is the ease with which text can be read (dependent upon formatting regardless of content). It is sometimes confused with readability, which is the ease with which a text can be understood (dependent upon the content, regardless of formatting).

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37
votes
2answers
6k views

Ideal column width for paragraphs online

There is nothing worse than coming across a website with paragraphs that span the width of your screen resolution. They are usually so hard to read, I don't even bother. A lot of web designers use ...
41
votes
11answers
3k views

Is clockwise or counter-clockwise rotated text easier to read?

When rotating text with css, should it be rotated clockwise or counter-clockwise? Is one more readable than the other? Counter Clockwise:     —    ...
5
votes
4answers
268 views

Is there any user experience benefit of having a patterned background in iPhone apps?

In your experience, do users of iPhone apps enjoy using an app with a "cool special background", like the one below, or do patterned backgrounds distract from the overall point of the app? I've seen ...
3
votes
4answers
390 views

Best Way to Darken a Color Until it is Readable?

What's the best way to darken a color until it is readable? I have a series of titles which have an associated color, but some of these colors are very light and any text drawn in them is unreadable. ...
25
votes
5answers
7k views

Why are “Inverted Colors” considered an accessibility feature?

Why is it that in most Operating Systems the "Inverted Colors" display setting is considered an accessibility feature? Both Windows and OS X includes this option so it seems to be a recognized ...
22
votes
8answers
2k views

Is there an optimal font size?

For most website projects I've been involved with, the font size for the bulk text is usually 12px - 13px, but I'm wondering if this is a good size. I remember reading an article saying that font ...
17
votes
12answers
2k views

Is this hard to read?

This is a snippet on a site i have just been building. I considered the readability etc, and the corporate colours, and tried to work with them. Actually, I find it quite relaxing to read and view, ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views

Why not use san-serif fonts on print design?

It's better to use san-serif than serif fonts on web, as their simpler letter form remain readable at low resolution. Serif fonts need more pixels to display their extra details. I was wondering why I ...
20
votes
7answers
649 views

Why are software EULAs typically displayed in a tiny non-adjustable box with lots of scrolling?

From my experience whenever I have to install a piece of software I'm presented an end-user license agreement (EULA) in the following way: Specifically the EULA is a long text in legalese and I ...
4
votes
5answers
367 views

Is this color readable?

I'm not sure that this orange color meshes well with my green and white theme, or that it's easily readable. If it is not readable, is there a better color that would be more easily readable? ...
11
votes
4answers
524 views

Font Size Amender

Is there still any need for a font resizer in web apps? Modern web browseers easilly allow you to zoom in on content. Older browsers such as IE6 and IE7 require you to change the font size via ...
6
votes
4answers
291 views

Does using bold font for keywords and key points increase readability of user manuals?

I find myself writing quite a lot of articles, user manual-like documents, as well as posting hundreds of questions on stackexchange sites. Over time, I developed a certain style of writing, which ...