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Welcome to the Words of Type Encyclopedia

Legibility

Legibility

Illustration: Catherine Potvin .

Legibility is about how easily a text can be read thanks to the identification of each glyph.

In typeface design, some shapes allow a glyph to be recognized more easily than others, generally due to the readers’ familiarity.
It is a subjective concept that can vary with context, culture and history. The meaning of legibility and readability is often mixed up.

Notes

REFERENCE BOOK

The Visible Word, Herbert Spencer, Lund Humphries, 1969.

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