Non-Designer’s Type Book, The, Second Edition

Is the Project to be Skimmed or Really Read?

In a job like a catalog or parts list where the reader will primarily be skimming headlines to find the text they want to read, keep in mind that sans serif faces are more legible, meaning the separate character forms are more easily distinguished at a quick glance (as long as they are not set in all caps!). You are also more likely to find condensed versions of sans serif faces, which are often necessary in the kind of piece where you’re trying to get a lot of information onto the pages. And a sans serif will hold up well under the often less-than-ideal printing conditions of many catalogs or parts lists.

If the sans serif catalog headlines are meant to lead readers into paragraphs of text, consider ...