On Jun 18.2005, at 17:00, Abbo Peterson wrote:


> I'm confronted multiple times a day from web site text that too  
> small to easily read. The worst cases are sites that use font sizes  
> that are two or and three times smaller than 'normal' and the  
> characters are literally unreadable (at 1024x768).
>

funny. i'm on a macintosh and i don't have this problem. it may be  
that we have different definitions of normal.


> In this regard, my question to any web designer (or client) is,  
> "What is the compelling reason to use a small font size?"
>
...
there are compelling reasons for smaller font sizes - they tend to  
improve readability for large amounts of text.

It it, however, frequently pointed out (including by Jakob Nielsen)  
that designers have horrible reputations for choosing font sizes that  
are too small because - and I question the rationale - "they have  
good eyesight."

Designers, I believe, when they're designing often forget that they  
are more focused on every detail on the page than the average reader.  
That small font over in the lower right hand corner that you've so  
carefully spec'd can just as easily be ignored if it's not central to  
the user's needs.
...

> be sure to test the results on multiple platforms and display  
> resolutions.
>

always good advice, for so many more reasons than font size which is  
really a fairly simple issue.
--
Skot Nelson
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