Overly stylized or decorated typefaces are more likely hard for children to digest. Therefore, children font needs to be clear (not complex) and easy to read. It is especially true for the younger audience who are still learning to read or write.
This article will talk about what makes a font a good and kid-friendly one, some characteristics of easy-to-read fonts, and the general examples. So, let’s start.
Good and Kid-Friendly Fonts
According to E-learn Connect, two things make a font a good and readable one: font design and font availability.
Font design closely relates to how clear and easy-to-read children font style is. For example, the font shows proportional characters or not too tall or wide letters. Children will easily recognize typefaces that they have already known.
The availability of the font refers to pre-installed ones or the need to download and install before using them.
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Why Using Easy-to-Read Children Font – Some Characteristics
Before choosing any children font collection in your design, it is better to look at several characteristics that make them easy-to-read or kid-friendly ones. Some of the following traits are more likely to be technical, but it is worthy of learning.
First, the font has a warm and friendly appearance in simple yet generous letter shapes. The typeface counters are better-rounded and open, rather than angular or rectangular.
Second, fonts with larger x-heights tend to be easier to read than those with shorter x-heights. The x-height is the distance between the baseline and the top parts of the lowercase line in a particular font.
Third, it is better to make the children font in easier one-story (single storey) of “a” and “g” as the ones learned by the preschool and school-age kids.
Fourth, try to grasp more realistic letter shapes by avoiding too complex fonts or decorative ones.
Fifth, be sure that the typeface is readable. If it is difficult for you to read them, it surely means that the children cannot read them as well. One of the helpful tips here: stay away from, for example, extended, condensed, bold, or hairline weights.
Sixth, considering the age of the child and the medium you use, it is better to have the children font at least 14 to 24 points of size with the leading of 4 to 6 points.
Lastly, try not to use capital letters and long lines since they make reading harder for children.
Good and Easy-to-Read Children Font Examples
After browsing several online sources, the conclusion for generally easy-to-read children font collections is as follows.
- Comic Sans MS
- Sassoon Primary
- Gill Sans Infant Std
- Bembo Infant
- Andika
- Futura
- KG Neatly Printed
- Plantin Infant
- Mulish
- Architect’s Daughter
- National First Font
- Muli
The above list is extendable since the measurement for kid-friendly fonts differs from one individual to another. It is not to mention preferences and favoritism.
Perhaps, you already have Comic Sans MS pre-installed on your Windows or Mac. As for others, you need to download and install them before using them. For this purpose or to look for more legible children font collections in creative designs, you can look up to unlimited collections offered by helpful online sources or marketplaces like Google fonts, Fontbunldes from Pollux of Geminorum, and the like.