This is an archive of the original scripts.sil.org site, preserved as a historical reference. Some of the content is outdated. Please consult our other sites for more current information: software.sil.org, ScriptSource, FDBP, and silfontdev



Home

Contact Us

General

Initiative B@bel

WSI Guidelines

Encoding

Principles

Unicode

Training

Tutorials

PUA

Conversion

Resources

Utilities

TECkit

Maps

Resources

Input

Principles

Utilities

Tutorials

Resources

Type Design

Principles

Design Tools

Formats

Resources

Font Downloads

Gentium

Doulos

IPA

Rendering

Principles

Technologies

OpenType

Graphite

Resources

Font FAQ

Links

Glossary


Computers & Writing Systems

SIL HOME | SIL SOFTWARE | SUPPORT | DONATE | PRIVACY POLICY

You are here: Type Design > Principles
Short URL: https://scripts.sil.org/BalanLegEcon

Balancing typeface legibility and economy: Practical techniques for the type designer

J. Victor Gaultney

Typeface legibility and economy—are they adversaries or can they work together? Their relationship is filled with tension. Common wisdom says that efforts to increase legibility can reduce the amount of text on a page, whereas techniques used for efficient use of space can jeopardize legibility. Is this the real situation? This essay looks at some of the variables that affect legibility, particularly those under the control of the type designer. From this foundation, it continues with a summary of techniques used in the design of economical typefaces throughout type history and evaluates their impact on legibility.

Please note that this paper was written in partial fulfilment of an MA in Typeface Design at the University of Reading, UK.

Balancing typeface legibility and economy: Practical techniques for the type designer
J. Victor Gaultney, 2001-01-01
Download "BalanLegEcon.pdf", Acrobat PDF document, 966KB [7839 downloads]

© 2003-2024 SIL International, all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted elsewhere on this page.
Provided by SIL's Writing Systems Technology team (formerly known as NRSI). Read our Privacy Policy. Contact us here.