Hello there, dear reader. Can you read this? Or is this site merely a wall of 1mm sized text with some pictures sprinkled in...
I've just received a very friendly email from a German scientist, letting me know that it was almost impossible to read anything on witoldriedel.com. If this were true, it would be pretty sad. I get many visitors per day. My writing might be silly at times, but I do not exactly want to keep it a super-secret.
Hmm... well, if you can read this, then you could probably read the site all along and asking you to send me a screenshot of how you see the site would not really make sense. So maybe I should just repost the same content, just in a bigger size. This will also help me predict the look?... Let's see.
Hello there, dear reader. Can you read this? Or is this site merely a wall of 1mm sized text with some pictures sprinkled in...
I've just received a very friendly email from a German scientist, letting me know that it was almost impossible to read anything on witoldriedel.com. If this were true, it would be pretty sad. I get many visitors per day. My writing might be silly at times, but I do not exactly want to keep it a super-secret.
Hmm... well, if you can read this, then you could probably read the site all along and asking you to send me a screenshot of how you see the site would not really make sense. So maybe I should just repost the same content, just in a bigger size. This will also help me predict the look?... Let's see. Ahem... pleas send me a screenshot of how you see this site. Or if you would like to share with all of us, please post a link to a screenshot in the commens of this post. (Thank you.)
Hi:)
I just wanted to thank you for tagging me. I wanted to sign your guestbook, but I couldn't find it. And I can read the text pretty well, it's normal.
I think the problem may be with the text in the archives. It looks like you're using a different text style for your content there than on the main page of your blog...the archives have smaller text. Maybe you could change the style so it's consistant overall? This is much more noticeable on an older Mac OS or on a PC, by the way -- the text smoothing in OSX is a little deceptive when it comes to very small type. Try looking at your individual entry archives in OS9 and you'll see what I mean.
Small is good, though. I love small type...I think that's true for a lot of designers. Just like we prefer small cars, small houses, and small things in general. If you do decide to go larger, though, I wouldn't go above the size you're using on your comments forms (the popups). Anything bigger than that is just obnoxious. :)
Posted by: Anna on March 4, 2003 04:36 PMI like the size of the comments, but I do have to strain a little to read the blog text. Here's a snapshot:
http://www.nirak.net/_storage/030403witold.jpg
But, that's the joy of having a personal site- you can do whatever you want with it. And if the content is good enough, I don't mind straining (though, sometimes at the end of a long day I'll paste the text into a word processor to read instead)
Posted by: Karin on March 4, 2003 06:18 PMI've got 2 (possilibly 3) words for people who bitch about font sizes on website: User Stylesheets.
Posted by: Chris on March 4, 2003 08:21 PMI can read both sizes just fine, no prob, if I couldn't read it, I would just hit the Larger Font button on my browser!
Posted by: Pat on March 4, 2003 08:45 PMGood point, Chris.... He was upset that I am using fixed point size on the page. Oh well...
Pat, you are absolutely right. I just increased the font size with Internet Explorer and it worked quite well. The page explodes and looks like a toy for kids under 3, but otherwise. I can make the letters B and I and G...
a german scientist eh?... he or she should be ablt to automatically adjust the size of the text... depending on the browser, it's located on the toolbar, on the drop down menu under tools/options or preferences.
i like the small size too... bigger fonts make me feel like i'm back in grade school or sumptin'.
Posted by: - s - on March 4, 2003 09:25 PMDUH... i really should read previous comments before i post shouldn't i?... otherwise, it all just becomes redundant... ok, ok, i'll just shaddup now.
Posted by: - s - on March 4, 2003 09:28 PMyou could go super interface mad and have options for the user to set on their own. or they could get off their lazy mouses and click around in their browser prefs to beef up the type
Posted by: em!ly on March 4, 2003 09:39 PMYeah Todd Dominey has this whole interface going. I am not sure I could do that. This site is supposed to be a bit of a note pad for myself... I was just thinking if I should remove the link section, for example...
Okay, I am glad that all of you are able to read the site. I am glad that one can actually increase the size of the fonts if really needed. You guys rock. Thanks.
Okay, I should have posted it earlier. One of the best comments on the font and design and size issue came from David Wasklewicz he wrote that he consulted with many of his friends about a possible solution and that his friend Mr. Carson suggested the following "interesting sollution":
I almost fell of my chair laughing when I got this. Thank you so much, David!
Posted by: witold on March 4, 2003 10:02 PMDespite size of text is not that big, I think he might has a problem with the screen resolution... I use 1024x768, but anything better then that can bring problems...
Ps: I don't use glasses...
Posted by: Leonardo on March 4, 2003 11:44 PMFrom a 1280x1024 screen: the screenshot
Personally, I think that the small text is aesthetically appealing, but I can definitely see how some people would have some problems reading it, especially if they happened to wear glasses.
Posted by: kat on March 5, 2003 01:41 AMThe text on the main page could stand to be a teensy bit larger, I'd say. Its readable, but sometimes you have to strain a bit, and on a smaller monitor, it could be even more dodgy. I like small text too, but there comes a point when different anti-aliasing schemes, browser display issues, etc, all conspire to make small text unreadable for some people.
And while user stylesheets are a potential solution, most people don't think "What can I do to view the page better" they think "Why did the designer give me a broken page?" and then move on with their lives. Its good for people to be aware of that feature, but it shouldn't be a requirement for viewing a page, it should be something to give an extra hand to someone who needs it. I'm a guy with a nice monitor, good vision, and good reading skills, and yet I find the text a bit on the small side for comfortable reading.
Anyway, its up to you. Its not a showstopper or anything, but i'd probably knock the size up a pixel or two.
Great site, btw! I hate for my first comment to be a critical one, but you DID ask for it ;)
Peace,
sam
i have no problem whatsoever with the fontsize, it looks absolutely fine on my 110 dpi LCD, i can still read it almost 1 meter away.
all those complainers should switch back to 800x600 on their 21" CRTs (=44 dpi?) and stop whining.
Posted by: Joergen on March 5, 2003 09:38 AMI was going to say something about the font size... almost a year ago. It is kinda tiny - the font on kottke.org is ideal - not too big, not too small.
but, that's just my opinion.
Posted by: DJSUBg on March 5, 2003 03:02 PMyeah, it's way to small, for sure.
Posted by: twhid on March 5, 2003 03:30 PMOkay, the kottke.org settings of 12px just looked impossible when I tested them 2 minutes ago. It does look great on his site, but I have these really fragile drawings here, and so when the copy gets too big it all just starts looking like clonky. So I set the size to 11px as a test. Not very happy with what I see, it just might need some minor adjustments. Thank you so much for all the fantastic comments.
Posted by: witold on March 5, 2003 03:35 PMit just doesn't look quite right being 11px... i guess i am used to it being tiny and cosy... hmmm...
10.5px maybe? :P
Posted by: shauna on March 5, 2003 05:02 PMant font, ant font, ant font... can you make it a wee bit smaller?... i like ant fonts... size isn't everything... it's what you do with it that counts.
ok, ok... shaddup, right... duct tape... i'm gettin' the duct tape now.
Posted by: - s - on March 6, 2003 01:43 AMI have no trouble reading your site. I'm a big fan of using em instead of px to control relative type size on my pages, though. I believe that in order to achieve usability on the web, designers must give up absolute control over how things look. I like the look of small text better, but if a visually impaired reader wants to see the text at headline size, I want him to be able to do so.
Unfortunately, so many web users don't seem to realize that they have any control over the appearance of a web page.
Posted by: Kristina on March 6, 2003 10:42 AM