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This study investigated the effectiveness of new point-of-interest (POI) pictograms on tourist maps within the Croatian and Slovenian contexts, focusing on enhancing the tourist experience in urban settings for individuals with specific needs. Despite the widespread use of tourist maps, there is a lack of research evaluating POI pictograms tailored to the needs of tourists with specific dietary, health-related, and sustainable clothing purchases. To fill this gap, we designed six new pictograms in three domains: healthcare, food, and apparel. The pictograms were evaluated using an online questionnaire involving 138 participants with a diverse range of ages and educational backgrounds. The results on comprehension and subjective assessments of the pictograms’ qualities revealed insights into the subtle cultural and lifestyle influences on pictogram perception. The findings provide a basis for considering the potential of new pictogram designs in improving navigational experiences with geospatial information and encouraging sustainable tourist behaviors.

Invasive alien plant species (IAPS) may cause threats to native biodiversity in ecosystems. Researchers have been investigating all the possible ways that they can be used effectively for other purposes. Since IAPS are capable of forming cellulose fibre nets, in this research, papers were made from three different types of IAPS (Japanese knotweed, giant goldenrod, and black locust). This research examined these IAPS papers and their effectiveness when used as printing substrates. In comparison to commercial office paper, the differences in basic, surface, optical, and microscopic properties were measured. As a widely used technology, inkjet printing was applied. We tested a commonly used sans-serif typeface (which has been established as being more legible than other typefaces in previous research) in three different type sizes (i.e., 8, 10, and 12 pt). According to the results, paper made from IAPS could offer some usable properties and acceptable legibility, especially when printing typefaces with specific attributes, such as moderate counter size, higher x-height, and minimal differences in the letter stroke width, are used. An appropriate typographic tonal density should be achieved in combination with an adequate letter size, e.g., 10 pt type size when a sans-serif typeface is used.

IntroductionThe amount of educational material delivered to pupils and students through digital screens is increasing. This method of delivering educational materials has become even more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. To be as effective as possible, educational material must be properly designed not only in terms of content, but also in terms of form, e.g., the typeface. The present study investigated the effect of letter shape on readers’ feelings of pleasantness during reading, reading fluency, and text comprehension and memorisation.MethodsTo find out whether age influences the effects of typeface shape on reading measures, we divided the participants into a group of less experienced readers (children) and more experienced readers (adults). Both groups read texts in eight different typefaces: four of them were round or in rounded shape, and four were angular or in pointed shape. With an eye-tracker, the reading speed and the number of regressive saccades were recorded as measures of reading fluency and changes in pupil size as an indicator of emotional response. After reading each text, the participants rated the pleasantness of the typeface, and their comprehension and memorisation of texts were checked by asking two questions about the text content.ResultsWe found that compared to angular letters or letters in pointed shape, round letters or letters in round shape created more pleasant feelings for readers and lead to a faster reading speed. Children, as expected, read more slowly due to less reading experiences, but, interestingly, had a similar number of regressive saccades and did not comprehend or remember the text worse than university students.DiscussionWe concluded that softer typefaces of rounder shapes should be used in educational materials, as they make the reading process easier and thus support the learning process better for both younger and adult readers. The results of our study also showed that a comparison of findings of different studies may depend on the differences among the used letter shapes.

The evolution of high resolution displays, especially liquid crystal displays (LCD), which are among the most commonly used ones, has contributed to a larger number of display readers. Regardless of high resolutions, problems in the legibility of typefaces still occur. Many typefaces may well be readable in print, but cause more difficulties when being read on displays. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of colour contrast on the legibility on LCDs to establish which type style is appropriate for a coloured text to be legible. Two different typefaces specially designed for display use were tested in a satisfactory light-dark contrast of five different colour combinations. The reading speed and fixations were analysed with an eye-tracking device Tobii 120X. Different texts were displayed on an LCD display. The results showed that the selection of a particular colour combination and contrast greatly affects the reading speed and legibility. Less visible colour combinations of text and background were read more slowly than the more contrasting or visible ones in both typefaces. At both typefaces, it was seen that at a slower reading speed, more fixations were needed and vice-versa. A transitional typeface gave a faster reading speed than a sans-serif typeface. An appropriate contrast, colour combination and used typography can facilitate legibility on displays. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2020-01243 Full Text: PDF

Labels as a graphic product are important for information in declarations, especially for languages of smaller nations. Labels are increasingly required together with their ever more complicated technical performance, one of them being the desire to adapt the text to blind or partially sighted users. We therefore tested the possibility of using a declaration text in black with overprinted Braille cells with no or minor influence on legibility. The research was performed by analyzing the influence of printed cells on the achromatic halftone reproduction. The prints of the text and the overprinted Braille cells were made with a UV LED inkjet printer. Two different typefaces in two different sizes suitable for labelling were tested. The color properties were determined colorimetrically and the differences in the typographic tonal density of typefaces were measured with an image analysis. The legibility research was performed with the help of observers who read the plain printed text and the printed text in combination with overprinted Braille cells made with varnish. The results showed that an appropriate typeface and type size can reduce the influence of overprinted Braille on text legibility.

In television broadcasts, important information is often conveyed with short inscriptions. In such elements, the typeface, letter case, positioning, timing and colour combinations may affect the speed of information processing to the level of recognition. It is therefore necessary to choose an appropriate combination of these properties. In the present study, we were especially interested in the effects of applied colours in connection with the above-mentioned factors. The speed of recognising three-letter words was measured in different experimental conditions where the typeface of the inscription, its position and colour combination varied. Two typefaces (i.e. Calibri and Georgia), two letter cases (i.e. upper-case and lower-case), two positions (i.e. upper left and right) and four colour combinations (i.e. white on blue, blue on white, white on red and red on white) were tested. The results showed that colour combinations affected the speed of word processing to the level of recognition.

The use of rhetorical figures has become a widely–accepted method for capturing attention and positively increasing cognitive effort in print advertisements. So far research studies mostly analyzed the effect of rhetorical figures in the written as well as pictorial elements of an ad. However, there have been few studies addressing the effect of rhetorical figuration in the specific area of typeface design. This study analyzes the effects of typeface figuration (i.e., regular vs. irregular stylization of the form) on attention and attitude of the viewers. The study also looks at how the effect of typeface figuration changes in relation to the type of a product (hedonistic vs. utilitarian) being advertised. Through the use of a 2 × 2 experimental design, the study measures data using a combination of eye tracking (an objective method) and attitude scaling (a subjective method). 65 volunteers participated in the study. The eye tracking results show that using rhetorical figures in typeface mainly affects attention of the viewers. We have also determined that they influence their attitude. Additionally, the study shows that a typeface and a type of products are correlated; it shows that the hedonistic type of products can benefit more from the figuration. In conclusion, our study builds on and expands the current understanding of the use of rhetorical figures by proving that there is a correlation between the use of rhetorical figures in typeface and viewers' attention, depending on the type of product being advertised.

Increasing amounts of text are read from various types of screens. The shape and the size of a typeface determine the legibility of texts. The aim of this study was to investigate the legibility of different typefaces displayed on LCD screens. Two typefaces (Georgia and Verdana), designed for screen renderings were analyzed by eye-tracking technology in 8 different sizes. Regardless of the font size, the texts set in Verdana were read faster. For both typefaces the reading speed increased with increasing the font size. The number of fixations increased with the character size, while the fixation time was shorter.