Name three factors that affect readability, and explain how they affect it.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Typeface selection-using too many typefaces in one design can produce a chaotic effect that decreases readability.
Alignment- how lines are text are arranged in relation to each other and the margins will affect readability. Left-aligned and justified text alignments are the most readable, especially for longer passages.
Measure, or line length, affects readability, because if a passage of text has an extremely long a measure, readers have difficulty finding the next line as they finish a line of text. On the other hand, when a passage has a very short measure, readability also decreases because the readers must pause to locate the next line so often
Use of negative space- a design with awkward spaces, (be they letterspaces, word spaces, or leading), will convey a sense of disharmony and can result in a less readable design. Widened letterspacing can be difficult to read because when letters are too far apart, word recognition becomes a challenge. Shortened letterspacing is also difficult to read because the diminished negative spaces between the letters may strain the eyes and make word recognition more difficult. When word spacing is too wide, readers have to search for the next word in the sentence. When word spacing is too narrow, readers have difficulty recognizing where words begin and end, so reading is slowed and comprehension decreases. When leading is too wide, readers can have difficulty finding the next line of text and reading is slowed. When lines of text are too close together, adjacent lines interfere and distract readers from the words they are trying to read
Your audience-any design that tires or frustrates your reader is likely to decrease comprehension or completely deter your message from reaching its audience. Because of this, designs that ignore your audience’s reading gravity or contain misspelled words are likely to reduce readability.