Portrait or Landscape? Typographical Layouts for Patient Information Leaflets

Abstract

Most text is presented either in a "portrait" style (where the height is greater than the width) or in a "landscape" one (where the width is greater than the height), but no researcher to our knowledge has compared the effects of these different typographic layouts on readers’ comprehension and preferences. The aim of the present study was to assess, in a preliminary way, how patients would respond to a patient information leaflet (PIL) printed in these two formats. The results showed that both leaflet designs were equally effective in conveying their information. However, as the different layouts might support different features within PILS differently, further research is needed to explore the relative virtues of each layout in a variety of different contexts.