Typography · 01 of 04
Choose a comfortable line length
Set type size, line length and line spacing together for comfortable reading.
The idea
A paragraph should be easy to follow from one line to the next.
Very wide columns can make that return difficult; very narrow columns can interrupt the rhythm with frequent line breaks. The right width depends on the typeface, language, size and kind of content.
Start with a readable body size, constrain the column, then adjust the spacing between lines. Test a real passage rather than a short placeholder. On the web, a max-width in ch can help, but ch measures the width of the zero character, not an exact count of letters. Recheck when the font, viewport or text size changes.
How to see it
Terms used in this lesson
The parts
- Measure
- The length of a line of text.
- Line spacing
- The distance between consecutive baselines.
- ch
- A CSS unit based on the width of the zero character in the current font.
In practice
- Test real paragraphs at the intended size
- Constrain long reading columns
- Recheck enlarged text and narrow screens
Avoid
- Letting paragraphs expand indefinitely with the viewport
- Choosing spacing from a short placeholder
- Treating ch as an exact character count
The test
Read a long paragraph on a phone and a wide screen, then enlarge the text. Can you follow each line comfortably without horizontal scrolling?
Use the Type Scale to adjust the reading measure and base size, then compare the live specimen.
Sources
- Robert BringhurstThe Elements of Typographic Style 1992
- Miles A. TinkerLegibility of Print 1963
Reviewed against all forty, on your product.
The audit is the cheapest thing we sell, and it regularly concludes that you do not need the project you came for.