Serif and sans-serif fonts
Summary
This article distinguishes between serif and sans-serif fonts and discusses when each is more appropriate.
Consider the following characters. The first is set in Georgia, a lovely serif font. The second is set in Verdana, an easy-to-read sans-serif font.
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serif |
sans serif |
Notice the small decorative flourishes at the ends of the strokes in the left character. These are called serif. The right character does not have these strokes and is said to be in a sans-serif font. ( Sans is the French word for without.)
Times New Roman is a commonly used serif font. Arial is a commonly used sans-serif font.
Use serif for printed work
Serif fonts, all other things being equal, are easier to read than sans-serif fonts. This is because the serif make the individual letters more distinctive and easier for our brains to recognise quickly. Without the serif, the brain has to spend longer identifying the letter because the shape is less distinctive.
The commonly used convention for printed work is to use a serif font for the body of the work. (A sans-serif font is often used for the headings.)
Use sans serif for online work
An important proviso must be made for the web, however. Printed works generally have a resolution of at least 600 dots per inch; whereas, computer monitors are usually only 72 dots per inch. This lesser resolution can make very small serif characters harder to read than the equivalent sans-serif characters because of their more complex shapes.
It thus follows that small on-screen text is better in a sans-serif font like Verdana or Arial.
