What are good general typeface principles based on target audience age?

Question

Everyone knows that as people get older their vision deteriorates. At 20 years old, few have trouble seeing and reading 8 or 9pt type in print or 10-11px type on the web. However, the older an audience gets the larger type needs to be, and the more leading needs to be adjusted, for them to read comfortably. Knowing the target audience's average age helps to design pieces appropriately with this in mind.- **What are good web type settings to use for an audience 20-40 years old? What about 40-60 years old? Above 60 years old? Are serif/sans serif a factor with age or is readability more universal where this is concerned?

Answer 1

Hello! Great question!

The most legible type face are sans serif fonts. Their iconic lack of contrasting width provides for an easier reading experience for everyone. Accessibility is something you should always keep in mind when designing especially when working with an older demographic.

The best plan for designing for a large scale demographic is to make sure that the design is functional for the most disadvantaged person. If they can use it, so too will the average consumer. With this in mind, make good use of large font sizes and bold typefaces. Rarely ever do I go below 9.5px and really I should strive to never go below 12.

Another great tip for increasing legibility is white space. White space is so fundamentally important to the way we read. Keep your lines of text nicely separated, indent, and break paragraphs. No one likes reading a brick wall of text! When working with web make sure you are making use of all your space! Imagine how unmotivated you would have been if I didn't break what I wrote into three paragraphs!

I hope this helps! All the best!