To Serif or Not to Serif

The difference between serif and sans serif (without serifs) fonts is important. The serifs in the letters are circled in the illustration below.










The general consensus is that serif fonts are more legible and easier to read. They make “individual characters more distinct…emphasize the beginning and ending of individual characters… [and] the shape of words” (Gelderman, 1999, p. 97). They make fonts easier to read “because the serifs along the tops of the letters keep the eyes moving more smoothly and provide more cues” (Griffee & Casey, 1988, p. 211). Interestingly enough serifs were not developed to aid reading but were “first employed by Roman stonecutters in lettering public buildings and monuments. Serifs were cut into the stone first to act as stops to prevent the bodies of the letters from overrunning the line” (p. 211). This style continued when the first fonts were designed and has become the norm for longer bodies of printed text.