Science or Art?
Posted by Jaci Russo
Easy to Read = Easy to Do
A study by Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwarz, released in the February edition of The Psychologist, analyzes how people react to the same information when it is presented in different fonts. Beyond just the language of the message, the typeface used to deliver the message can have great weight subconsciously for the reader deciding whether or not the task is achievable.
As they explain, when people ponder a new exercise routine and whether it is going to be easy or difficult to do, the font used to describe the routine can determine the reader’s perception about the task:
For example, consider the identical exercise instructions. When they were presented in an easy-to-read print font (Arial), readers assumed that the exercise would take 8.2 minutes to complete; but when they were presented in a difficult-to-read print font, readers assumed it would take nearly twice as long, a full 15.1 minutes (Song & Schwarz, 2008b).
They also thought that the exercise would flow quite naturally when the font was easy to read, but feared that it would drag on when it was difficult to read. Given these impressions, they were more willing to incorporate the exercise into their daily routine when it was presented in an easy-to-read font.
Martin Bishop used the following example to highlight what Song and Schwarz were referring to:
image: Exercise Example by Martin J Bishop, Landor
Not only will the font determine how difficult they think the task is but also if and when they will attempt it.
They observed that 17 per cent of their participants postponed choice when the font was easy to read, whereas 41 per cent did so when the font was difficult to read. Apparently, participants misread the difficulty arising from the print font as reflecting the difficulty of making a choice.
Branding is a broad umbrella that covers all of the touchpoints that a consumer comes in contact with and summarizes how they feel about you after contact. The crucial component of branding is the consumer’s feelings. Their gut reactions to your company and product. As we tell your story and highlight how you benefit them so that they become truly connected to you emotionally, it is important that the story is told and shown in a certain way.
This study proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the science of design, the choice of a font, will have dramatic effect on what feeling your consumer has about you and more importantly what action they take after connecting with that touchpoint.
Do you make it easy for them to integrate you into their lives? When they read more about you will they leave with a feeling of ease or difficulty? These seemingly small choices, like font, have very big ramifications. Think before you ink.
Our purpose is to change the conversation to build an emotional connection that will drive consumer action. As this study illustrates, sometimes changing the conversation will start with changing the font. A seemingly small detail that you didn’t even consider to be important. You, or your design agency, picked that font because it looked good. But in the end, how it looks to you isn’t nearly as important as how your consumer will react to it. Will your font slow down their decision to love you?
