Reader Preferences for Typeface and Leading

Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of typeface and leading on perceived appealingness of a printed page. Eighty subjects judged the attractiveness of 48 typographic designs, varying in typeface (Garamond, Bodoni Antiqua, Bodoni Kursiv, Akzidenz Grotesk), in justified vs. unjustified composition, and in leading (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 points).Judgments were made by rank ordering subsets of six specimens. A scaling procedure (comparative judgment) was applied to the data and gave scale values for each design. There was no significant difference between mean scale values for justified and unjustified composition, but different typefaces required different amounts ofleading to allow most appealing composition.