Quote:
Originally Posted by hobnail
Serif vs sans serif is definitely a preference, no arguing with that.
But there are conventions that probably should be followed (don't ask me why). After a previous thread on the topic of sans versus serif I looked through my piles of books and I have never found a novel or short stories collection that's set in sans.
I apologize for being harsh but whenever I start reading an ebook novel and it's set in sans, it feels cheesy, amateurish, and unprofessional to me.
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You made me curious, so I've started to look around about what is said about the use of serif vs sans serif.
After reading several blogs and websites about fonts, it seems there are no rules pro or con to the use of either one. Whether it's used for print or on screen.
That said, it turns out that it's mostly about how a particular fonts makes the writer and/or the reader feel. Simply said: it's down to preferences and that something that's very hard to argue about.
Some points mentioned did get my attention. Like:
- According to studies, serif seems to be the easier fonts to read, no matter if it's on print or on screen
- Serif fonts are seen as classic, elegant, formal and established
- Sans serif fonts are seen as modern, friendly, direct, precise, clean and minimal
- The use of serif, sans serif or a combination of both, regardless for what purpose, is an ongoing debate among designers
In the "old" days of computers and digital devices, the screen quality was low. For that reason sans serif was used, because serif fonts were very hard to read, if not impossible (think about serif fonts in the old green or orange pixeled screens
).
Nowadays we have high def screens even on the smallest devices, so even sans serif fonts are pretty easy to read. Whether one likes them or not
.
Before the digital era, sans serif fonts were very uncommon to use for print, so, yes, when you go through your printed books, you'll hardly find a novel printed in sans serif. That doesn't mean it's common practice to use serif for digital devices. Most people are used to read sans serif on screen.
So big question in the end is: should I oblige my readers to sans serif or not, by embedding my own fonts.
My answer: I still don't know, though I tend towards yes. Because it, unconsciously, tells the reader something about me, the writer. I actually really am/love friendly (I hope!), direct, precise and minimal...