Reading Distance & Font Size
Creating a poster that is readable from a distance is a crucial aspect when presenting your data. Use the tables below to determine what size your body text should be based upon reading/viewing distance.
Typical Display Board (Close Approach Possible)
| Item | Font Size (points) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Title | 150+ | You want your title to be visible from across a room! |
| Headings | 32+ | Should be easily readable from 5 feet away by someone just walking by. |
| Subheadings | 20+ | This text is smaller than headings, but more noticeable than main text size. |
| Main Body Text | 16 – 18 | This is a comfortable text size for someone who comes closer to read more. |
| Captions | 12 – 16 | It’s OK to make these a bit smaller than the body text if necessary. |
Typical Display Board (Close Approach Not Possible)
| Item | Font Size (points) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Title | 150+ | You want your title to be visible from across a room! |
| Headings | 48 | Should be easily readable for anyone walking nearby. |
| Subheadings | 36 | This text should be readable from at least 5 feet away. |
| Main Body Text | 32 | This is a comfortable text size for someone reading from a distance of 5 feet (7.5 m). |
| Captions | 24 – 32 | It’s OK to make these a bit smaller than the body text if necessary. |
Minimum Font Size & Reading Distance
| Reading Distance | Minimum Comfortable Font Size | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1.2 feet (0.35m) | 8 points | This is the typical reading distance for a book. Most people prefer text to be 10, 11, or 12 points at this distance. |
| 2.4 feet (0.7m) | 16 points | This is the closest comfortable distance for reading a large poster. |
| 5.0 feet (1.5m) | 32 points | In many settings this is as close as one can get to a poster. Sometimes this is because the poster is roped off, or in other cases, large crowds simply make close approach difficult. |
| 25 feet (7.5m) | 160 points | For almost any setting, you want a title that can be read from at least this far away. |
Questions? Please reach out to posters@abraxas.wustl.edu.