Letterform Legibility and Visual Perception: a speculation

Abstract

This short paper explores a straightforward insight: that the basic features of visual perception map instructively onto the letterform skeletons of the Latin alphabet. Linking findings from visual perception ith knowledge about typography and reading might advance our knowledge of how letterforms function visually. This knowledge could be used to develop a formal measure of letterform legibility, to rovide means to distinguish between a text and a display typeface, and to provide guidance for typeface design.