OUGD405 Studio Brief 02 - Design Process - Information Design - Typeface

Consideration of typeface is really important especially as I am targeting a younger audience who are still learning. It needs to be inviting, easy-to-read typefaces, set in the most readable way. When selecting a typeface for a children’s text, I need to look for a warm, friendly design with simple, generous letter shapes. The counters (the enclosed shapes within characters) should be rounded and open, not angular or rectangular. I should try to avoid non-traditional letterforms. A good example of a typeface with these attributes is Sassoon Primary, designed specifically for children.

Typefaces with larger x-heights are generally easier to read than those with short x-heights, and this is especially true for children. For very young readers, designs with one-story ‘a’s and ‘g’s (also called infant characters), is more appropriate as they are the lowercase shapes preschool and school-age children learn to write.

Considerations:

•  Don’t use condensed or expanded typefaces, which make character recognition more difficult.
• Select a book or medium weight; stay away from hairline or very bold weights.
• If using italics, make sure they are easy-to-read, and not overly condensed or stylised.

Text Size:

I need to make the text size large enough so that children would not struggle to read it. New readers have to learn to follow words from left to right and “jump” their eyes from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. The text should be set between 14-24 point.

Line lengths should be short and there shouldn't be too much text on the page. Dense blocks of text can be intimidating to young readers and avoid using all caps. I need to also make sure there is enough contrast between the background and the text, this makes it clearer and easier to read.

Headline or title type gives allows a more playful style, colour and layout, since there are fewer words to read. Decorated typestyles, lots of colour, and curved and jumping baselines can all be used to attract and entertain a young reader. Keeping it light and fun is the key to keeping a young reader interested and turning pages.

I tested out two different typefaces DK Cool Crayon Regular (top) and Sassoon Primary Roman Italics (bottom).

After testing the type sizes within the 10x10cm dimensions I found that a 34pt type worked better for the titles and a 12pt type worked for the body text, this is due to the small nature of the leaflet. I am worried however that 12pt is too small as it generally is better to go for larger type size to make it clearer for younger viewers however I am going to stick with these sizes. Generally I think that DK Cool Crayon Regular is more appealing and attractive it mimics the style of a crayon which would fit in well with the hand drawn and child-like design. However, Sassoon Primary Roman Italics is more legible and a lot clearer to read which is ideal for younger readers. Overall I am going to go with DK Cool Crayon Regular as I think it will appeal more to a younger audience, also as its a bolder type it will provide a higher contrast.