What fonts are the easiest to read? (2023)

Let's talk about fonts.

When conveying information in text, the font you choose can have a big impact:how your message arrivesand even people's ability to read it.

Um, let's try again.

What we wanted to say is this: whenconvey all information in the text, the font you choose can have a huge impact on how your message is received and even on people's ability to read it. Case in point: the text above, which is almost impossible to read on a screen and seriously distracts from the message being typed.

Easiest-to-read fonts may vary by countryWoThey use them: the perfect font for a banner, for example, might be different than the lighter font for your website. But that doesn't mean you need to take the guesswork out of choosing the right font - there are some helpful tips and rules of thumb you can follow to ensure you choose a font that's accessible, readable, and easy to read . Here's what you need to know.

What makes a font easy to read?

There are many different factors that can make a font easier or harder to read. Some of the most well-known factors are things like spacing, size, colors, and whether the font is decorative or utilitarian. but there is alsoserifs– The little tails that detach from the letters help direct the eye from one character to the next, but can make a small-scale font difficult to read. and then there isHeight X— the distance between the baseline of the text and the top of the lowercase letters, which helps determine whether the font looks open or narrow.

And as we move from reading mostly on paper to reading mostly on screens in the digital age, some of the conventional wisdom about easier-to-read fonts has shifted. In some cases, a clear, readable font in print, for example on a website, is not as legible, especially on a small screen like a smartphone.

But there are still many general rules that apply. The easiest to read fonts should have:

• Easily distinguishable height differences between uppercase and lowercase letters
• Different characters (e.g. I, l and 1 must look different)
• Correct spacing between letters
• Good contrast between titles, bold text and normal text
• Apostrophes, quotation marks, and other small, prominent punctuation marks

On the other hand, things that can make a font difficult to read can include:

• Very thin lines making it difficult to see the letters when the font size is small
• narrow letters
• Block capital letters

Another factor to consider is whether you have a source available. Some of the easier to read fonts like GDS Transport, BBC Reith, and FS Me are designed specifically with readability in mind. But they are not readily available because they are copyrighted.

Why is it important to use a legible font?

A clear, easy-to-read font makes your content legible and accessible.

To show how important this is, let's look at what happens and whenNOUse an easy-to-read font.

As you can see, in certain fonts, different words and letters can look so similar that it's difficult to tell them apart. This can make your text difficult to read, digest, and understand, leading to a variety of problems: Readability can mean the difference between someone clicking or skipping your ad, or becoming a customer or switching to a competitor.

It's also important to consider the impact that font choice has on accessibility. The best font should be easy to usesomeonefor reading, but some fonts are better than others for people with certain learning disabilities or visual impairments, especially the elderly.

These are the easiest fonts to read

With that in mind, here are some of the most popular fonts that are widely considered the easiest to read. In some cases, the best font depends on where and how you use it (more on that later), but you can rest easy by choosing one of these: All fonts are easy to read, regardless of content and application. .

arial

Arial is one of the most popular and legible fonts you can find. It has a very organic look with natural lines and an open design. Although Arial is primarily intended for print, its openness makes it a good web font.

Times New Roman

Times New Roman has long been the standard for print and web documents. There's a reason for that: Times New Roman is simple and straightforward, and extremely readable in a variety of sizes, as well as in bold, italics, and headings. Despite its relatively small x-height, Times New Roman is definitely one of the easiest fonts to read.

verdana

Verdana was developed by Microsoft to be the ideal font for web documents. But because of its open design and bold lettering (for example, it's very easy to tell the difference between "n" and "h"), Verdana has become a favorite for its readability in all sorts of contexts.

helvetica

Helvetica was designed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger. It became an almost instant hit due to its clean and professional looks. Helvetica is a sans serif typeface, meaning that individual characters have no serifs (tails and other flourishes). Instead, it features tall, thin, closely spaced letters. What makes it one of the easiest typefaces to read is that it's excellently legible from close up or far away, and in sizes large and small.

Georgia

Designed specifically to be a web font, Georgia meets these requirements. Its hallmark is that it remains readable even at very small sizes, making it ideal for web content that can be read on a mobile device.

Merriweather

For those looking for an alternative to sans serif fonts, there's Merriweather. Designed by Google for web use, Merriweather features semi-condensed spacing that still leaves enough space between letters to make them readable even at small sizes. Those who have been in web design for a while may remember when Merriweather was the default for most WordPress templates, and with good reason.

Montserrat

Montserrat was originally designed for signage use, but in 2017 it was redesigned with a lighter weight to make it easier to read on the web, especially in long blocks of text like the body of a website. Since then, it has become a popular choice for both web and print due to its good readability and design that minimizes eye strain.

Future

Although originally launched in 1927, Futura owes its name to its timeless style that makes it look almost futuristic no matter when it is used. With thin, clean character strokes and a geometric design, Futura is not only easy to read but can also be used in both informal and formal contexts.

open without

As you may have noticed from this list, many of the easiest to read fonts are sans serif fonts. Open Sans is no exception. Open Sans was designed for the digital age to be a single graphic design font that appeals to many different preferences, yet is extremely easy to read.

Latin

Lato is another Google-designed font designed for the web. It features rounded letters that are professional and casual at the same time, making this font ideal for all types of applications. The letterforms are distinctive but unobtrusive, making the Lato extremely easy to read.

New

Tisa has a large x-height and is wider than regular kerning (the space between each letter), making it easy to read at all sizes and contexts. Tisa is not only super readable, but also versatile.

robot

Roboto is one of the newer fonts on this list, developed by Google specifically for the Android mobile operating system. However, the font was found to be so attractive and easy to read that it is now used as the default for Chrome browsers as well.

The best fonts for different use cases

While all of the fonts in the list above offer a good balance of legibility and versatility, there are still some fonts that are easier to read in certain contexts, such as on screen or in print.

The best fonts for websites

The biggest challenge when choosing a font for the web is that different browsers can display fonts differently. For example, Firefox tends to display fonts with a higher weight than other browsers. From a brand consistency perspective, this can be challenging: it can be difficult to ensure that the fonts you choose look the same to all users.

Then there are the format issues. The layout and spacing of fonts intended for display on computer screens may differ from those on paper. Digital fonts also need to be more legible at small sizes so they can be easily viewed on smaller screens of mobile devices and wearable technology. Because of this, some fonts come in two versions: one for digital and one for print.

For sources that have an online and a printed version, it's also possible that the difference existsnothing to do with drawing, but the license If you are purchasing a font for use in printed materials, using that font for live text on your website may violate your license agreement. This is another factor to consider.

With that in mind, some of the easiest fonts to read on screens include:

• Times New Roman
• arial
• verdana
• helvetica
• Manometer
• Georgia

The best fonts for print designs

Whether it's an internal report, a brochure, or a business card, the font you choose for a printed document is an important part of the message you're conveying. is he professional Does it match the tone of the entire document? Is it easy to read so as not to distract from the text message?

In printed fonts, serifs (the flourishes, like little tails, that are added to basic letters) help our brain recognize text and read it easily and quickly! - from one letter to another. But many different fonts have serifs, and that doesn't automatically make them legible. Also look out for large, open lettering. The extra space also helps the brain recognize them faster and reduces reading fatigue, especially with large blocks of text.

With these tips in mind, some of the easiest-to-read fonts in print are:

• helvetica
• Future
• verdana
• Georgia
• Garamond

Choosing the right font means stayingwithinCrate

At Superhuman, we chose the Adelle font for our desktop experience. It works for several reasons:

• It's a sans serif font that works well at small scale. We've looked at a few serifs, but they can be difficult to read in a large amount of email text.
• It's not very geometric. The narrow width allows many characters to fit on a single line, which is important when writing a text-heavy email!
• It stands out from the sans serif fonts you might see more often on the web, but it still has a very neutral personality, which means you can use it for any type of content.

The bottom line when choosing the easiest fonts to read? Typography experts have honed their craft and it's best to trust their best practices.

When choosing a font, it can be tempting to choose something that will stand out. But at the end of the day, if your font is so catchy that it distracts from the content itself, it won't help you achieve your messaging goals.

Any of the fonts on this list are safe choices to start with, or you can browse selected font libraries likeGoogle fontsÖAdobe TypeKitfor the perfect font for your project.