I finally picked a sans serif for body text after 10 years of serifs

For forever I used Georgia for everything because it felt classic and readable. Then last month I had to make a sign for a community center and someone pointed out the letters looked too squished from far away. Switched to Verdana for that project and it worked way better for low vision folks. Now I'm rethinking all my old choices, anyone else stuck on a font for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

zarak1817d agoMost Upvoted

Hey @elizabeth_chen you make a good point about distance being the real issue. But honestly that sign thing got me thinking. My grandma has cataracts and she always complained about reading anything in Georgia. I never connected it until that community center project. Now I'm wondering how many people silently struggle with fonts we think are fine. It's not just about size or spacing though. Some fonts just have letter shapes that blur together when your eyes aren't perfect. My neighbor who designs for aging populations swears by Verdana for anything over 12pt. She says the wider letters and open counters help a ton. Makes me want to start a whole library of accessible fonts for everyday use.

elizabeth_chen17d ago

Respectfully, Georgia is still fine for a lot of things. That sign problem was about distance and size, not the font itself. Low vision needs bigger letters and better spacing, which is a layout issue as much as a font choice. I use Georgia for printed things people hold in their hands at a normal distance and it works perfectly. For a big sign on a wall, yeah you need something chunkier. But that doesn't mean you have to ditch Georgia for everything else. Different jobs need different tools, a hammer is still good for nails even if you need a wrench for bolts.