Re: Monitor sizes

From: Hal Pawluk <hpawluk_at_csi.com>
Date: Wed 09 Feb 2000 09:02:45 -0800

FRED WROTE:
> Then you'll probably know what "Optimum line length" is
> - and why it's important to you as information purveyor
> and visual communicator.

Since Fred won't tell you, the rule used, probably
since shortly after the invention of movable type, is
that a line should be between "1-1/2 and 2-1/2
(English) alphabets" long. That's between 39 and 65
characters.

And not so coincidentally, that works out to about 640
pixels max, which is why monitors were designed that
size in the first place.

Since then, of course, monitors have gotten bigger and
bigger (I've got a width of 2,560 pixels available on
my two monitors) and Web designers have made lines
longer and longer.

Bad idea, especially since most non-designers set their
browser window widths in the 600-700 pixel range (for
readability) no matter how wide their screens are - and
they hate horizontal scrolling, so they leave.



Received on Wed Feb 09 2000 - 11:02:45 CST