In the early days of the internet--before graphical browsers like Mosaic entered the scene-- text and color schemes became the best way to grab a reader's attention. It was not uncommon to have a blue background with a yellow comic sans font, with text spinning and flashing.
Today, this would not pass compliance with Section 508. Not only that, it's just bad design.
While the blue/yellow color scheme is high contrast and should be highly readable, it isn't the most pleasant. And, after a time, begins to wear on the eyes.
Why does this matter when designing for learning? It's the same reason teachers get frustrated when a student turns in a slide project with a black background and red lettering: It looks cool, but it's hard to read!
To begin, one needs to understand what makes a font readable.
Comic Sans is a font people love to hate. But why is there a universal dislike for this font? It goes back to the idea of readability and balance. Comic Sans isn't balanced. The strokes are off centered and visually it leaves a bad mark on the brain. Quite simply, it doesn't achieve the happy place for our brains when we read it.
Font falls into two categories: serif and sans serif. Serif fonts have "feet" on them or little finishing strokes. Times New Roman is a serif font. Sans serif means without serif, or without the finishing stroke. Helvetica is a sans serif font. While it hasn't been scientifically proven, it is generally accepted that serif fonts are easier to read because they lead the eye from one letter to the next.
That doesn't always mean serif if the best font for every occasion. When it comes to captioning something, that someone has to read quickly, sans serif is the way to go. The eyes grab the information and quickly move on.
With all of this in mind, as we design for educational purposes, fonts should be easier to read. One font designer has developed a font for people with dyslexia. This free font differentiates clearly between commonly confused letters. While not widely distributed, this font could be a game changer in the classroom.
Teachers should also be mindful of font size. Small fonts might save space on a page, but it does not always help the students. Even still, you need to consider the amount of information on one page. There's an acronym: TL; DR that stands for Too Long, Didn't Read. If too much information is contained on one page, then the reader is likely to skip. Students will do the same on assignments. If there's too much information on a single page, they will skip reading it all together.
Font size and colors are crucial in keeping student interest and engagement. Give them enough to draw their attention in and keep them going with small chunks of information at a time.
Font and background color are also important. A black font on a light background is the easiest to read. The darker the background, the lighter the font should be; the lighter the background, the darker the font. It's all about finding balance.
RESOURCES
Dyslexie font
Choosing Fonts
Contrasting Colors for Readability
Color in e-Learning
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