Go for good contrast

•  Avoid shading

• Avoid glossy paper

• Use white or pale coloured paper

Give adequate margins

Use left justification

Leave space between paragraphs

Allow ample space on forms

Set line spacing

Choose the right font – to serif or not to serif

Use adequate font size

Format headings clearly

Use bold text to emphasise important points

Avoid hyphenations

Go for good contrast

Avoid shading

It has become a common practice to shade text boxes – especially those containing really important information.  The shading reduces the contrast between the background and the text, and makes it much more difficult to read the words.

Shading also becomes distorted when pages are photocopied, and so the readability of the text is further decreased.

Material downloaded from the web and then printed is another problem.  I wish the producers of web pages considered this.  If you have a student who is finding this a problem, copy and paste the text into a word processing package.  The student might then be able to read the text more easily, adjusting the font and so on to suit them.

Avoid glossy paper

The shine on glossy paper can make text difficult to read.

White or pale coloured paper

The colour of the paper that you chose will affect the readability of your documents.  Generally black print on white paper provides good readability.  For some people other coloured backgrounds, such as cream or beige, make it easier to read text.

Have you ever tried to photocopy from an original on coloured paper, and the copy has come out almost black?  This is because the light is not reflected back adequately off the coloured paper.  These shades of paper should only be used as section dividers, and not for materials that are meant to be read. 

This does not mean that coloured paper should be avoided.  If you are keen to use a range of colours, look for pastels.

Using different coloured paper can be a useful way of highlighting specific information – for instance, assessment tasks described within a learning guide.  Colours will help people find material quickly and will also help them to remember specific pieces of information.

Give adequate margins

Margins of at least 2.5 cm make it easier for people with low vision to read documents using a Closed Circuit TV (CCTV).  Most CCTVs have a movable platform with a camera mounted above.  The text needs to be as flat as possible to be easily read.

Line length should ideally be in the range of 50-65 characters. Some visually impaired people may prefer even shorter lines than this. (textmatters.com)

The Plain English Campaign (2001) suggests that a line of body text should normally contain 60 to 72 characters, or about 10 to 12 words.

Use left justification

Text should be justified left, with ragged right edge.  Full justification makes the spaces between words highly variable, and therefore text is more difficult to follow.

Leave space between paragraphs

There should be more space between paragraphs than between lines. Other ways of setting paragraphs – such as indenting the first line, out-denting the first line, using a bullet or asterisk – make text less easy to read for visually-impaired readers. (textmatters.com)

Allow ample space on forms

On forms, visually impaired people often need generous space to fill in hand-written details. Their hand-writing tends to be larger than average, and visual impairment, particularly in older people, is often accompanied by other physical problems which make it hard to write neatly. This means they need more widely spaced lines or larger boxes to fill in than those on conventional forms. This also applies to tick boxes, which should be about 50% larger than their standard size. (textmatters.com)

As we try to capture more and more information on enrolment forms, there is more pressure to reduce the size of text and the space for responses. 

We need to also consider, however, that more and more VET students are mature-aged – a group with a proportionally higher number of people with a vision impairment.  If we really want to capture the information, the people giving it to us have to be able to read the questions.

Set line spacing

The space between lines of text, or leading (pronounced ‘ledding’), is another important aspect of design.  Several writers recommend line spacing at least 25% greater than the text (Kitchel, Text Matters).  This means that you would format your paragraphs with line spacing of at least 15 point for a font size of 12 point.

To change line spacing:

1.                Go to the Format menu (ALT + o)

2.                Choose Paragraph (p)

3.                Go to the Line Spacing list box (ALT + n)

4.                Choose Exactly from the list (down arrow until Exactly is highlighted and then Enter)

5.                Change the setting in the At box from the default to 15 pt (TAB once to the box and use the up arrow until 15 pt appears and then Enter)

Figure 1: The picture below shows the Format Paragraph dialogue box, with the settings described above selected.

Choose the right font – to serif or not to serif

Many articles and manuals on Plain English will advise you to use a font that has ‘serifs’ – the little dashes on the letters.  There is a belief that it is easier to read text printed in these fonts – at least on paper – because the letters flow smoothly together, and it makes it easier to recognise the shape of words.

Serif fonts include:

• Times New Roman

• Courier. 

Sans serif fonts include:

• Verdana

• Arial

• Tahoma.

One manual suggested, however, that ‘sans serif’ fonts, or fonts without the little dashes, are a better choice (Plain English Campaign, 2001).  Another source, Georgia Tech, suggested that sans serif fonts were easier to read on a computer screen.

After looking at a lot of writing in this area, it seems that there is no clear evidence for a preference either way, for readers with normal vision.  (Connolly, 1998; Hay, 1999). 

Sans serif fonts can make the text easier to distinguish for readers with low vision.  Hartley (1996) wrote that using Gill Sans (a sans-serif face) instead of Plantin (a serif face) afforded a 4% improvement among elderly readers.  Hay (1999) also concluded that for people with low vision, sans serif fonts were generally better as they reduced the effect of crowding that can occur with serif fonts.

So – it seems that it is better to lean toward fonts that are:

w        sans serif

w        medium density of weight

w        not condensed

That is, fonts like Verdana or Arial.

We found two examples of fonts that have been developed for people with low vision.  See Resources - Setting out documents for more information.

Use adequate font size

Resist the temptation to cram as much as possible onto a piece of paper, especially by using a small font size.  What is small?  Arial 10-point font is too small for almost every document. 

You will have noticed that different fonts are different sizes, with the same point number.

Examples

The quick red fox - Times New Roman 12 Point

The quick red fox – Arial 12 Point

The quick red fox - Verdana 12 Point

A good rule of thumb is to choose a font that is no smaller than Arial 12 point.

Format headings clearly

The following is from textmatters.com.:

“Headings should be clearly differentiated from the main text using some combination of size, weight and space. Capitals should not be used for headings, nor should out-denting. A second typeface such as a sans serif in contrast to a serif body text could be used, but no research has been carried out to prove its effectiveness. Headings in bold are clear as long as there is plenty of contrast between the weight of the heading and that of the text.

“Headings seem easiest to read when ranged left with the text.

Extra space around headings may be enough to differentiate them from main text.”

The Plain English Campaign (2001) suggests that to link a sub-heading with the text that follows it, you should have more space above it than below it.  Headlines and headings need breathing space. Let white space frame your headlines or headings. They will look better and they will attract more attention than if you filled the available space with large type.

Use bold text to emphasise important points

Bold type is a good way to highlight particular points.  Italics can be difficult for people with low vision to distinguish. 

The following is from textmatters.com.:

“Traditional italic type should clearly not be used for continuous text for any group of readers. As a means of emphasising important words or phrases it may be appropriate. This is particularly important if body text is in a semi-bold; the use of bold for emphasis may not be enough. Titles of books etc. should be italicised as in text for general readers.

“Remember that the italic versions of most seriffed fonts are very different from their roman equivalents - some would be tough going for visually-impaired readers. 'Italic' versions of sans-serif fonts are normally just sloped versions of the roman and should not have the same potential problems.”

You shouldn't use ALL CAPITALS.  They are much harder to read, as they create a rectangular shape that takes more time for people to recognise.  People generally find it easier to recognise words using lower case letters.  And, as you probably know, using all capitals is thought of as SHOUTING!

Avoid underline.  Underlining cuts through the descenders of letters (the lower bits) and makes it more difficult to distinguish letters.  (Burke, 1992)

Avoid hyphenations

Hyphenated words at the end of sentences interrupt the flow of reading.