Pretty Page
V ISUAL
PRESENTATION
101 Fo Shizzle
Now that we have built the architecture of the web page, it's time to consider the contents. Read these two papers and write three or four paragraphs describing them and the implications of their work for designers. Put your paragraphs in the left-hand column.
* "Readability of websites with various foreground/background color combinations, font types and word styles" A.L. Hill and L.F.V. Scharff. Proceedings of the Eleventh National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Vol II, 742-746.
* "The Impact of Web Page Text-Background Color Combinations on Readability, Retention, Aesthetics, and Behavioral Intention" Hall, R. and Hanna, P. Behaviour & Information Technology, 2004.
Recent research by Dr. Lauren Scharff and Alyson Hill of UT (Austin) indicates:
The most readable color combination is black text on white background.
Darker text on a lighter background was rated more readable.
There is no one combination of styles that leads to the best readability -- designers should use best judgement.