Screen resolution is much lower than the resolution found
in books, magazines, etc., even in low quality documents printed with ordinary
printers. While most printed texts have a 1,200-dpi (dots or pixels per inch)
definition, monitor definition is no higher than 85 dpi. On the screen, the
space used for text is less (for most users) than in most books and magazines.
This limits the amount of text that can be displayed without having to scroll
vertically.
Legibility
Good-quality typography depends -among many other factors- on the
visual contrast between fonts, text blocks, titles and background empty space.
Strong contrast with distinctive patterns is what most catches the eye. When a
page is filled with dense text, it becomes a gray block that is neither
attractive nor comfortable to read due to lack of visual contrast.
The first thing one sees in a page, even before reading
the title or seeing the images, is the whole pattern and the contrast on the
page. Following patterns that stick to one way of organizing the text and images
on the different pages of a site or application enables users to understand how
the information is organized and to intuitively find more information. This is
how page legibility increases.
Margins
Margins define the reading area of a page by separating the main
text from its background. Margins and empty spaces are used for delineating the
main text from other elements in a page. When used in the same way in all the
pages, they provide unity to the site by creating a consistent structure and a
specific visual identity. We recommend that main texts have 5-to-10-pixel
margins. In GeneXus, this is possible by placing the text inside a table with
the following measurements: border width =0 and cell padding=10.
Cellpadding: specifies the distance in pixels between a
cell's content and its borders.
Cellspacing: specifies the width in pixels of a cell's
borders.
In our next issue we will continue discussing typography.