How Physical Text Layout Affects Reading from Screen
Critical review of empirical research on line length, column width, window size, and line spacing for onscreen text.
Citation
Dyson, M. C. (2004). How Physical Text Layout Affects Reading from Screen. Behaviour & Information Technology, 23(6), 377–393.
Method
Empirical literature review.
Claims used
- Characters per line is the relevant variable when discussing line length.
Limitations: Interaction with eye movements, scrolling, and format familiarity still needs investigation.
Extracted principles
- Measure text width in charactersNot tested
Set text-column widths in characters (ch) rather than fixed pixels, because characters per line shape reading experience.
Typography