Student Preferences in Typography

Abstract: Very little research has been undertaken on the role of reader characteristics in typographical research and the interplay of preference and design. This study simply asked 245 university students for the ranked ‐preferences among typographical variants of a paragraph. There were 16 paragraphs in all, with combinations of typeface, size, emphasis and interline space. Emphasis was the dominant factor although a general preference for the more spacious layouts was evident.