There are many who argue in favour of serif fonts. Colin Wheildon is one such person.^{Footnote 1} He designed several research projects to test various aspects of font use and comprehension. These showed that serif fonts were easier. He was, however, using participants whose education level was mostly above average. And maybe some people chose not to participate if they thought their reading level would shame them.

It is also worth noting that the research was carried out in one country— Australia. There, serif fonts are very commonly used, as they are in North America as well (with the exception of many technical manuals). People read more easily when they are used to a particular style. So, what works in Australia may not be the same for countries which use more sans serif fonts. In Britain the Plain English Campaign recommends sans serif fonts because public notices are often in sans serif and people are used to that look. The Nora Fry Institute (a research institute for people with developmental disabilities) also recommends them.

Now that I’ve said all this, I’m sure you will start looking at fonts more carefully. Here are a few to check. The Calgary Herald uses a serif font, with a sans serif for information in boxes; Canadian Geographic uses a serif font, with a sans for sidebars. Alberta Views magazine also has both, with a serif font used in the main articles. Fast Forward Weekly uses a lightly serifed face, while the Ikea catalogue uses a sans serif.

Computer use
A sans serif font is definitely recommended for computer use. The screen tends to make letters slightly fuzzy, so an unfussy font is less tiring for your eyes. We also are usually further away from a screen than from a book we hold. Verdana is a font specifically designed for computer use. As you can see from the sample on the previous page, its letters are broad and plain.

The differences among fonts don’t end there, though. Before making a choice, look at details such as how clear the periods are. Both Times and Arial have small periods, easy to miss. These fonts were designed this way because in newspapers the print was likely to spread or smudge. If you are using Times or Arial and addressing people with reading problems, you may want to revert to the old typewriter practice of putting two spaces after periods. Georgia is a good replacement for Times, and has bigger periods:

This is Georgia 11 point; its punctuation is more emphatic.

More fonts
Comic Sans is often used when a plain font is needed. It has a good plain a and is informal enough to encourage people to read.

This is Comic Sans.

In fact, it is so informal that it is unsuitable for some documents. And it does tend to become irritating if used too frequently. A good font is one which is seldom noticed.