Blogging on Bookman

Typefaces can help or hinder the communication process. There are many typefaces to choose from but they should match a documents purpose and function. In Avoiding Typeface Terrors, an article written by Kathleen Burke Yoshida, she identifies three important factors that help determine the appropriate typefaces for effective documentation in technical communication. The legibility, readability, and personality qualities of typefaces can enhance a documents message.

One of my personal favorite typefaces,


was designed by Alexander Phemister. Does it have the qualities that the article describes? It has an old style antique design with lighter stroke weight which gives it a more traditional personality.



You can determine if a typeface is legible if you can read a sentence by just seeing half of the letters.



In this example, Bookman is legible.




Bookman Old Style is a serif font. Serif fonts are better for longer lines since readers use the baseline to follow the text. The x-height, which is the body of the lowercase letters, is large so this also makes it simple to read. If you add to this, ample white space and a point size of 11 or 12 (for body text), then Bookman Old Style can be a good choice.