this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2023
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What are your favorite fonts for technical reports? (mander.xyz)
submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
48 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I work at a consulting engineering firm and write a lot of reports that are read by the public. I have an opportunity to recommend a different font for all of our written documents and am looking for something more modern/fresh than Times New Roman. Also open to recommendations for purpose specific communities about typography/fonts.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Intel’s Clear Sans.

IBM’s Plex, I’m particularly partial to their condensed sans.

Fira Sans is a good generic recommendation, their mono is again worth considering.

Adobe’s Source family (sans, serif, mono) is another inoffensive, safe choice.

erewhon is a modern workhorse serif that pairs well with all the sans fonts above. It’s derived from Adobe’s Utopia, which is used in quite a few newspapers (clear and legible without taking too much space).

STIX Two was specifically designed to replace Times New Roman in scientific + mathematical publications, if you’re looking for a font that’s different but familiar to Times New Roman, I could not recommend it enough.

Charis SIL was originally designed for laser printers and later modified for use in linguistics, it’s essentially a serif version of Verdana (same designer too). As with all the other fonts mentioned, very broad character set support.

The TeX font catalogue is a treasure trove in general.

Edit: almost forgot, the Libertinus family also comes recommended for a more ‘professional’ look.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

This is super helpful! Fun fact - Erewhon is also a small chain of very high end markets in Los Angeles. Now I'm going to have to research what this word means and who came up with it first.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Try spelling it backwards ;)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Nohwere? It’s an anagram but it’s not straight up backwards for “nowhere”, at least not quite. Presumably it’s named after the novel, which I knew nothing about before five minutes ago in any event.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Oh shit! I see it now :)

[–] [email protected] 21 points 10 months ago (1 children)

For regular text, something sans-serif that is not fixed width like Calibri.

For code or numbers, a fixed width sans-serif font like Consolas or Inconsolata.

Serif fonts definitely have their place, far away from technical documents.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (7 children)

It feels like low effort to use the default Office font when there are so many other options, but in my sans serif font tests Calibri ended up looking the best so far. I really didn't want to like it! Curious where you think serif fonts belong? I don't know shit about fonts/graphic design...

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

FYI, the new official Office default is Aptos. I've been making work docs with it for a few weeks and I have to admit, it looks really clean and technical.

https://medium.com/microsoft-design/a-change-of-typeface-microsofts-new-default-font-has-arrived-f200eb16718d

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

I didn't know that! It's going in the pile for further consideration.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I like Aptos more than Calibri, but I wish they also had a better Serif typeface than Cambria.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I write mostly for web, so I don't use serif a lot. I think it's still fine for use with headings.

If your reports are destined for print, it still belongs, imo.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

What counts as print these days though? When I first started working, we'd get literal boxes shipped to us with 1,000+ page documents inside. Now it's a cloud link that opens with a PDF reader. Does that still count as print? Genuinely curious, because I see conflicting advice depending on if its print or not.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Anything literally printed on paper. If you're in PDFs and you know your audience is going to be reading it on a small screen, I'd say stay away from the serif fonts. Especially since you mentioned elsewhere that you're concerned about document length; you can get away with smaller letter tracking size on sans.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Calibri is bad for technical documents because you can't easily tell the difference between I and l.

Whatever sans serif you use, choose one that makes the difference legible, like Trebuchet or Bierstadt.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

I really like me a good serif. Computer (Latin) Modern is very satisfying. Also, according to some research, it's up there with the Helveticas and the Arials for readability. Note that 12-point is where serifs flourish (figuratively).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I prefer serif fonts in fiction and humanities, but maybe that’s just my STEM bias showing.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

gotcha. Serif fonts seem more readable to me in every setting, but they also look stuffy. ¯\(ツ)/¯

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Calibri is not actually the default font anymore! In M365, at least. Granted, it will be a long time before it's not recognized as such.

My company uses Roboto. I like it a lot, but I think it's gotten pretty popular. Do you know about fonts.google.com? Huge library that you can apply filters to, makes it really easy to browse.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I've recently become a proponent of Atkinson Hyperlegible (while discovering I have some vision issues). Not sure if it's appropriate in your industry, but the improvements to accessibility are hard to argue with.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

improvements to accessibility are hard to argue with.

It's pretty good, yes. But other fonts not specifically designed for this fare quite well in contrast to what you'd believe: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/garethfordwilliams_dont-believe-the-type-axe-con-2021-activity-6904510195884445696-93xG

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Our designs have to comply with ADA, so accessibility is definitely a familiar consideration. This looks like any other professional looking sans-serif font, so if it's more accessible for low vision/vision impaired people, all the better! I like that uppercase i and lowercase L are distinguishable, which is a personal peeve I have with some sans serif fonts. Thanks for the suggestion!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (2 children)

It's hard to explain exactly why but switching my ereader over made a night and day difference in my comprehension and reading speed.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

That happened to me when I started using OpenDyslexic. I read so much more now, and I already read a lot.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Out of curiosity, what font were you using before?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

This one is going to be an unconventional one but I do love the Ubuntu font and I try to sneak it into some documents I write.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

As do I, though mainly for headings. Body text is something thin and screen legible as most of my docs are not printed.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Personally I'm a huge fan of the Kepler Project font. I got hooked on it when I started writing papers in LaTeX.

http://luc.devroye.org/fonts-47327.html

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for the font rec. I despise Word but have colleagues who would be unable to function in something like LaTeX. Oh well...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

There is an OTF version, it's just not bundled w/ anything by default as far as I'm aware.

Available here: https://ctan.org/pkg/kpfonts-otf?lang=en

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

DIN was made for German highway signs. It's pretty good.

Do not use Georgia, Times New Roman, or Verdana. Those are screen fonts.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Isn't TNR a print font? It looks rather bad on a screen actually. I certainly wouldn't (and never have) use it for a technical report.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

It’s a font designed for columns of text about two inches wide. Not a good font for wide lines of text.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

OpenSans

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

OpenDyslexic if I’m reading it myself. Especially for a long technical report because I don’t need that eye strain.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Do that one font that's friendlier to dyslexic people. There's actually a reason to use that.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Dyslexie was one of the first fonts I looked at specifically for accessibility purposes. Unfortunately, despite it's utility, it looks too much like a 'fun' font for our documents. Our reports are publicly published for the legal/administrative record, and need to reflect that level of professionalism. :/

Someone else suggested a font that's helpful for vision impaired people that I will take forward in this process, so maybe I can get a different accessible font through. Really appreciating the thoughtfulness for people with various reading challenges!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Newer research actually says that it mostly doesn't matter. Use a readable sans or serif, there's no measurable difference.[1][2][3]

[1] Wery, J.J., Diliberto, J.A. The effect of a specialized dyslexia font, OpenDyslexic, on reading rate and accuracy. Ann. of Dyslexia 67, 114–127 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-016-0127-1
[2] Kuster, S.M., van Weerdenburg, M., Gompel, M. et al. Dyslexie font does not benefit reading in children with or without dyslexia. Ann. of Dyslexia 68, 25–42 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-017-0154-6
[3] Rello, L., Baeza-Yates, R. How to present more readable text for people with dyslexia. Univ Access Inf Soc 16, 29–49 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-015-0438-8

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

When it doubt, I use Noto Sans.

If I'm feeling fancy (almost never), I'll choose a serif font for section headings.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

CMU Serif is always a good choice imo.

Times, which I think NeurIPS uses, is pretty solid.

Latin Modern Roman is another good one, used by TMLR.

IBM Plex just looks so nice too.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

http://sansoxygen.com/

https://fonts.google.com/?query=Vernon+Adams

Some of my favorite fonts were designed by Vernon Adams.

He passed away in 2016 but I always remember his fonts. I didn't know him personally but after using his fonts for years and learning about his passing, l felt very sad. Take a look, you might like some of his fonts.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Thanks for the recs. I thought one of the fonts in the link was called Potato Sans, so now that one is my new personal favorite forever, even if it's actually called Pontano Sans. :D

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Roboto Slab, Iosevka

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I was going to say use the old timey fixed width typewriter fonts that the US Army Corps uses (PDF page 5 and beyond), but I guess that they've switched to Times New Roman.

Maybe use open source fonts like DejaVu and Liberation?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Definitely need to avoid giant fixed-width fonts. My reports often run close to 100 pgs with Times New Roman, and using a typewriter font would blow them up even more. I'll look into the open source suggestions, thanks!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

I usually go with Fira Sans for sans serif, if the document I'm writing isn't super formal. Mixes well with Inconsolata for code and Latin Modern (or other serif stuff) for math.

[–] thesmokingman 2 points 10 months ago

I am incredibly partial to Computer Modern Unicode because it’s a Unicode-capable version of the default LaTeX font. I’ve used this web port of Computer Modern for a very long time as well.