{"id":734,"date":"2025-05-20T20:58:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T20:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/?p=734"},"modified":"2025-08-15T09:48:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T09:48:10","slug":"issue-59-1-nineteen-questions-to-evaluate-typographic-research-chaff-and-wheat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-1-nineteen-questions-to-evaluate-typographic-research-chaff-and-wheat\/","title":{"rendered":"Nineteen Questions to Evaluate Typographic Research: Chaff and Wheat"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"sitecontainer\">\n<div class=\"pagecontainer\">\n<article class=\"vj-article\">\n<div class=\"articlesidebar\">\n<h5>Issue 59.1<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-1-in-with-the-new\">Editorial \u2014 In With the New!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-1-making-design-research-visible\">Making Design Research Visible<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-1-a-shifting-practice-paradigm-meets-a-persistent-curriculum-paradigm\">A Shifting Practice Paradigm Meets a Persistent Curriculum Paradigm<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-1-digital-type-challenges\">Digital Type Challenges<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-1-towards-interdisciplinary-juggling-similarities-and-differences\">Towards Interdisiplinary: Juggling Similarities and Differences<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-1-nineteen-questions-to-evaluate-typographic-research-chaff-and-wheat\">Nineteen Questions to Evaluate Typographic Practice: Chaff and Wheat<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-1-visible-language-evolves\">Visible Language Evolves<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-1\/Visible-Language-59-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download Issue 59.1 \u27a4<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articlecontent\">\n<h1>Nineteen Questions to Evaluate Typographic Research: Chaff and Wheat<\/h1>\n<h3>Karel van der Waarde<sup>a<\/sup> and Myra Thiessen<sup>b<\/sup><\/h3>\n<h4 style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">a: Graphic Design\u2009\u2013\u2009Research, Elewijt, Belgium; and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Lucerne, Switzerland; b Art, Design, and Architecture, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia<br \/>b: Corresponding author: Karel van der Waarde (waarde[at]glo.be)<\/h4>\n<div class=\"abstractbox\">\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Abstract:<\/span> The number of experiments that investigate the \u201creadability\u201d or \u201clegibility\u201d of texts is very substantial. Literature reviews of these studies appear regularly, and many publications refer to these experiments to suggest evidence for claims. Some of these claims have led to usable recommendations. However, most of these recommendations are often hard to apply and unhelpful. When we are teaching typography, we struggled to explain why the recommendations are difficult to use, why many reviews are uncritical, and why experiments rarely provide reliable evidence to support design decisions. A literature review, guided by experience in both commercial practice and university level education, lead to a list of themes and issues. There are at least 19 reasons why the results of many typographic experiments need to be questioned. This article provides 19 guidelines that could be used to evaluate experimental research into the ways in which texts are read. This list of reasons can be used as a checklist to assess and guide new typographic experiments. We hope to make sure experiments are worthwhile, future reviews are based on reliable sources, and recommendations are effective.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"keywordsbox\">\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Keywords:<\/span> legibility; readability; research methods; typographic research; typography<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"viewarticlebtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-1\/nineteen-questions-to-evaulate-typographic-research-chaff-and-wheat.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"articlepdfviewer\">\n<object data=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-1\/nineteen-questions-to-evaulate-typographic-research-chaff-and-wheat.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-1\/nineteen-questions-to-evaulate-typographic-research-chaff-and-wheat.pdf\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" style=\"border: none;\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/object>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"authorbox\">\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Author<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Karel van der Waarde<\/strong> studied information design in the Netherlands (The Design Academy, Eindhoven) and in the UK (De Montfort University, Leicester, and the University of Reading). In 1995, he started a design\u2013research consultancy in Belgium specializing in testing of information design. Most of the projects are related to information about medicines for patients, doctors and pharmacists. His research focuses on the effects of visual information. Karel van der Waarde frequently publishes and lectures about information design. Van der Waarde is a board member of International Institute for Information Design (IIID, Vienna, Austria) and the International Plain Language Federation (IPLF), and editorial board member of <em>Information Design Journal, Journal of Visual Communication, The Journal of Visual Political Communication, and Visible Language<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dr. Myra Thiessen<\/strong> is a researcher in the Design Health Collab at Monash University and is the program coordinator of the Communication Design program in the Faculty of Art, Design, and Architecture. She has rounded expertise as a design practitioner, educator, and researcher with expertise in design for legibility, readability, and usability. Her work focuses on information translation and accessibility, developing communication systems that enable people, including those who may be marginalized due to cognitive differences, to share and use information in healthcare settings and other complex environments. Dr. Thiessen is especially interested in how motivation, context, and environment affect comprehension and decision making, and she specializes in evidence-based design drawing on empirical research methods to test both the preference for and performance of visual materials. As part of the Design Health Collab this interest is applied across a range of user experience design contexts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"viewarticlebtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-1\/nineteen-questions-to-evaulate-typographic-research-chaff-and-wheat.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF<\/a><br \/>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"articlecitebox\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"blueurllink\">DOI being generated<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cite this article:<\/strong><br \/>van der Waarde, K., &#038; Thiessen, M. (2025). Nineteen questions to evaluate typographic research: Chaff and wheat. <em>Visible Language<\/em>, 59(1), 77\u201399. https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-1-nineteen-questions-to-evaluate-typographic-research-chaff-and-wheat<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>First published online April 27, 2025. \u00a9 2025 Visible Language \u2014 this article is open access, published under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.<\/p>\n<p><pre>https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal<\/pre>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"vlconsortiumheading\"><strong>Visible Language Consortium:<\/strong><\/span><br \/>University of Leeds (UK)<br \/>University of Cincinnati (USA)<br \/>North Carolina State University (USA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Issue 59.1 Editorial \u2014 In With the New! Making Design Research Visible A Shifting Practice Paradigm Meets a Persistent Curriculum Paradigm Digital Type Challenges Towards Interdisiplinary: Juggling Similarities and Differences Nineteen Questions to Evaluate Typographic Practice: Chaff and Wheat Visible Language Evolves Download Issue 59.1 \u27a4 Nineteen Questions to Evaluate Typographic Research: Chaff and Wheat &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-1-nineteen-questions-to-evaluate-typographic-research-chaff-and-wheat\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Nineteen Questions to Evaluate Typographic Research: Chaff and Wheat&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-invited-article","category-issue-59-1","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=734"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1158,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734\/revisions\/1158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}