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(Type) size
matters You’ve paid
good money to a copywriter to craft a persuasive narrative about your product.
Now you need the message packaged in a form that will interest your customers,
moving them to the point of response. In the case of
printed matter, this will involve a designer. It’s their job to reflect the form
and dynamics of the copy in visual terms. And to allow the information to reach
the reader’s brain with the minimum impediment. How puzzling,
then, to observe how many designers strive to achieve the exact opposite. They
place as many obstacles in the way of legibility and comprehension as their
vanity and advanced technology can devise. (Even more
puzzling: designers who do this still get paid.) How some
designers reduce your sales There are many
tried and tested methods for a designer to sabotage the information transfer
process. Each one of
them could jeopardise your chances of a positive reader response. Here are
three: 1 graphics
running behind type, impairing legibility 2 low contrast
between type colour and background, turning reading into a search for
peppermints in snow 3 text split
illogically over columns or even pages, destroying the rhythm and structure of
the writing. But one of the
most common barriers to communication is also one of the most incomprehensible:
type set too small to be read with ease. Pretty basic,
isn’t it? No credibility
without legibility Set your type
in a size that can be read comfortably by a normal human being.
Without
optical pain, and without having to get so close to the page as to suggest an
improper obsession with printed paper. Yet it’s
surprising how many designers don’t seem to have grasped this most fundamental
of principles. I have even
seen the main body copy for a brochure set in a 6-point light sans serif type.
6-point type is for footnotes. Viewed in less than ideal lighting conditions by,
say, a 35-year old, it’s verging on the invisible. Take a
leisurely look at your fellow humans. Observe how many of them are beyond the
first flush of youth and 20-20 vision, and how many of them wear glasses or use
contact lenses. A lot of these
ageing, sentient beings are your customers. They lead busy lives. They have
better things to do than wriggling through visual obstacles to reach your sales
message. Like a person
waiting for an interminable logo animation to open a website, they will simply
log out. So make sure
the designer you use appreciates the importance of type size.
In
conclusion... Legibility
varies enormously according to font, weight, and line spacing. But as a rule of
thumb aim for 9- or 10-point as a minimum size for your main copy. And if it
doesn’t fit? Use a more condensed typeface. Edit the copy. Change the format.
Type size does matter. And if the customer can read your message without even being aware of the type size, then it’s the right size. |
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“…clear, concise, high-impact…” “…we doubled our response rates…” “…really pleased with the copy…” “…the best opening rate…” “…the copy is fantastic…” “…the pack is a great success…" “…absolutely brilliant…” “…our highest-ever response…"
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