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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Hi Christine,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>This is an interesting issue that I have to think more about. San Serif fonts usually make online documents easier to read, while Serif fonts usually make printed documents easier to read. But you have brought up an issue that’s similar to visual crowding.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>I did a comparison with the default Microsoft Word font, Calibri, and the two new fonts from Microsoft that help decrease visual crowding, Fluent Calibri and Fluent Sitka Small, in 11 point:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal> rnm Il1 Calibri<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Fluent Calibri",sans-serif'> rnm Il1 Fluent Calibri<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Fluent Sitka Small"'> rnm Il1 Fluent Sitka Small</span><span style='font-family:"Fluent Sitka Small"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Here’s an image of the comparison, in case the fonts don’t come through:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><img width=338 height=97 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D3AF36.4FE8D4B0" alt="Comparison of fonts Calibri, Fluent Calibri, and Fluent Sitka Small"><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Microsoft’s fonts to reduce visual crowding are downloadable here: <br><a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=50721"><span style='color:#1F497D;text-decoration:none'>https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=50721</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Fluent fonts have kerning built-in, as well as space between lines. I’m not sure if this is the solution, but it might be helpful for people who need that extra space.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Thanks,<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>John Cavano, OTR/L, ATP</span><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>High Tech Center Training Unit<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>AT Specialist / Instructor<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>408-996-6045<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>jcavano@htctu.net<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>www.htctu.net<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces@mailman13.u.washington.edu] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Christine Robinson<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, January 24, 2018 10:31 AM<br><b>To:</b> athen-list@u.washington.edu<br><b>Subject:</b> [Athen] Text readability: can you tell the difference between "rn" and "m"?<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>Hi all –<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>I’ve been thinking a lot about readability of text, and I’d like to invite you to brainstorm with me. This is a long detailed posting, and it won’t hurt my feelings if you delete it here. *smiles* But if you’re a curious person like me…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>We’re likely all familiar with the general guidelines for readable digital text: use a sans serif font like Verdana, use good color contrast and font size, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>Lately I’ve been puzzling over the space between letters, and how typeface choice affects that:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><span class=NewAdded><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>rn m Il1 Arial<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><span class=NewAdded><span style='font-family:"Myriad Pro";color:black'>rn m Il1 Myriad Pro<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><span class=NewAdded><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'>rn m Il1 Times New Roman<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><span class=NewAdded><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>rn m Il1 Verdana<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>(Hopefully this doesn’t come across to you converted into plain text; if you don’t see the above as different fonts, you may want to play around with it yourself.)</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>My vision is 20/20, but I find that in most cases, the two lowercase letters <span style='letter-spacing:1.0pt'>RN,</span> next to each other, are difficult to distinguish from the single lowercase letter M. Depending on the typeface, it at times it’s also difficult to tell the difference between uppercase I, lowercase L, and/or the numeral 1. Usually I can tell the difference from context, but if it’s an unfamiliar word, someone’s name, or a password, it may take me a few moments to make sure I’m reading it correctly. Same goes for the common abbreviation for accessibility: a11y.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>Fiddling around for better readability, I’ve tried playing with kerning, increasing the space between letters. Again, if you get this converted to plain text, you won’t see that in the text below, I’ve increased the space between letters by 1 pt:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><span class=NewAdded><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:1.0pt'>rn m Il1 Arial<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><span class=NewAdded><span style='font-family:"Myriad Pro";color:black;letter-spacing:1.0pt'>rn m Il1 Myriad Pro<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><span class=NewAdded><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;letter-spacing:1.0pt'>rn m Il1 Times New Roman<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><span class=NewAdded><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:1.0pt'>rn m Il1 Verdana<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>It doesn’t help with the “uppercase-I, lowercase-L, or numeral 1?” question. It usually helps with the “rn or m?” question, but as a trainer, I can just imagine myself trying to tell people to increase their kerning in order to improve readability. Besides, I don’t recall seeing that recommended anywhere as a best practice for digital accessibility.</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>So I got to thinking, what about monospaced (fixed width) typefaces? The characters each occupy the same amount of horizontal space, unlike the other typefaces above with are variable width.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-family:Consolas;color:black'>rn m Il1 Consolas (monospaced)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-family:"DejaVu Sans";color:black'>rn m Il1 DejaVu Sans (monospaced)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-family:"Letter Gothic Std";color:black'>rn m Il1 Letter Gothic (monospaced)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-family:"Lucida Console";color:black'>rn m Il1 Lucida Console (monospaced)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>To my eyes, it’s usually easier to distinguish between the characters, and I’m tempted to start recommending that people use a typeface like Consolas or Lucida Console. However, again, I don’t recall hearing any accessibility people recommending monospaced typefaces.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>Anybody have any thoughts on this?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>Best,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>Chris<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:#007048'>Christine Robinson</span></b><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:#007048'> </span><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'>| Technical Trainer/Writer | Center for Teaching Excellence<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:#007048'>Georgia Gwinnett College</span></b><span style='font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black'> | 1000 University Center Lane, L-2158 | Lawrenceville, GA 30043<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></body></html>