Design for Readership

To improve readership, limit all-cap text

by Ann Wylie, president, Wylie Communications Inc.

Readers read copy set in all caps 12 percent slower than copy set in upper and lower case, according to the Medill Journalism School. Why?

More white space surrounds words set in upper and lower case, and white space aides readability.

Word forms are easier to recognize in upper and lower case than in all caps.

Most copy is set in upper and lower case, so readers are more familiar — and comfortable — with that approach.

Alas, most art directors love all caps — mostly, I think, because type stops looking like words and starts looking like a rule when it's set in all upper case. I am not proud to say that I have reduced art directors to tears over this issue.

One curled up in the fetal position, whimpering something about "visual relief." I tried to comfort him, whispering words of solace, "Honey, could you use a different font instead? Would bold face subheads offer visual relief?"

The whole experience gave me a headache and made me vow to restrict my relationships to art directors who have the talent and education to deliver visual relief — whatever the heck that is — without running everything in italics, reverse type or all caps. And now I give them a limit from the outset: no more than 10 words of text in all caps.

Need more techniques for creating a structure that makes your copy easier to read and write? Check out Ann's workshops and learning tools.

About the author

Ann Wylie runs a company called Wylie Communications Inc. Ann works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out. To learn more about her training, consulting or writing and editing services, call Ann at 816/997-8753 or e-mail her at ann@wyliecomm.com. Get a FREE subscription to Ann's e-mail newsletter at http://www.wyliecomm.com/newsletter_signup.shtml.

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