Density of Type Affects Reader Attention

Densly-packed, small type, crowded together in neat blocks for page after page, sends a clear message: serious business is being transacted. Count on appropriate amounts of both attention and anxiety in the reader. Looser designs, on the other hand, with widely-spaced, larger type, subdivisions, and the presence of light graphic elements or illustrations, demand much less determination on the part of the reader. They convey a more leisurely interaction with the text. Type density thus becomes as much a tool for directing reader attention as color, graphics and interactivity.