Articles: legibility

Most readability problems come from one thing: the design is made on a big screen, up close, by someone who knows the content by heart. The reader sees it quite differently - in a hurry, in poor light, sometimes from across the street. The articles under this tag return to that gap in leaflets, packaging, documents and materials for clinics.

Less copy, more air

The first move is usually cutting. One thought per paragraph, short sentences, a clear order - and suddenly the same message reads twice as fast. The second move is spacing: letters squeezed against the edge tire the eye even when they are large.

• Start with what matters - say what the reader should do or remember.
• Enlarge the text where it counts - for older readers and for anything seen from a distance.
• Watch the gap between background and letters - pale grey on white simply disappears.
• Show the order - numbers, arrows or plain steps instead of a long description.

Paper matters too

On cream, grey and kraft paper colours behave differently than on white - bright shades go quiet and delicate tints can vanish altogether. Compulsory, legal and technical wording is its own case: there is a lot of it and it still has to be readable. Blocks of text, clear headings and consistent spacing all help.

If you are preparing something meant to explain, test it on an outsider. Someone seeing the design for the first time will point to the spot where the eye gets lost within seconds.