Glossary A–ZLetter F
Font size for viewing distance
Font size for viewing distance is the letter size that on-screen text needs in order to remain reliably legible from the actual distance of the viewers.
What counts is the visible height of the letters on the display, not the point size in the design software.
Text that looks fine at a desk is often illegible from several metres away. Besides distance, screen size, resolution, contrast, typeface, viewing angle and reading time all play a part. Clear sans-serif typefaces, strong weights, short lines and sufficient spacing between lines help. A price in a shop window, a room name on a door and a departure board in a lobby each have different viewing distances and therefore need different sizes.
Rules of thumb in the literature vary, so the most reliable check is an on-site test: show the creative on the actual screen and read it from the distance from which customers or staff really look, ideally with people who do not know the text. Operators should set minimum sizes in templates so that the type does not shrink automatically when long texts are inserted.