4 ms·

Off-topic, this is one of the most readable sites I've ever visited. What is it, exactly, that makes that typesetting so pleasing to the eye?

alexpenny 14y ago
Five reasons: 1. Proper line height 2. #404040 for text color instead of #000 3. webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; 4. text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; 5. Steve Jobs quote Wow is this guy a designer?
- tjsnyder 14y ago
  A designer would probably be a bit more consistent with the vertical grid. For instance, the margins are inconsistent with the line height etc.
  - alexpenny 14y ago
    I kid, a baseline grid is the least of his worries.
    - benlakey 14y ago
      I'm most definitely not a designer. :-) If you're interested, it's just the 'Responsive' wordpress theme. http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/responsive http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/responsive
- Danieru 14y ago
  It's a standard open source wordpress theme, one of the popular ones: https://wordpress.org/extend/themes/responsive https://wordpress.org/extend/themes/responsive
keiferski 14y ago
My guess is that the color: is set to #404040, not black. Most people aren't aware that pure black is hard on the eyes; a slightly grey black is much more readable.
- MaxGabriel 14y ago
  Can you or Alex expand on this? I'd especially want to know if this was true on non-white backgrounds.
  - alexpenny 14y ago
    Yes its especially true for non-white backgrounds. It all has to do with contrast. With black on white we have 100% contrast, if we use dark gray on light gray the contrast becomes say 70%. The lighter the contrast the easier it is on the eyes. Here's a quick example of what it looks like. http://cl.ly/1p103C2z1N220L1W213l http://cl.ly/1p103C2z1N220L1W213l
    - 4ad 14y ago
      > The lighter the contrast the easier it is on the eyes. Or not: http://contrastrebellion.com/ http://contrastrebellion.com/
      - alexpenny 14y ago
        Interesting link, but you're missing the point. The website even misses on their points. Most of the bad examples fit under an acceptable contrast ratio, by the standards given in their research, and even their good examples are not pure #000 or #fff. The w3c states that a minimum level of 3:1 works for people with 20/20 vision and 7:1 achieves the Triple-A standard. To show you what it looks like. http://cl.ly/0J3Q210X142x1h2m1G2v http://cl.ly/0J3Q210X142x1h2m1G2v for reference http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/visual-audio-contrast-contrast.html http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/visual-audio-contr... and contrast tool http://www.snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html http://www.snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html

alexpenny 14y ago

Five reasons: 1. Proper line height 2. #404040 for text color instead of #000 3. webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; 4. text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; 5. Steve Jobs quote Wow is this guy a designer?

tjsnyder 14y ago
A designer would probably be a bit more consistent with the vertical grid. For instance, the margins are inconsistent with the line height etc.
- alexpenny 14y ago
  I kid, a baseline grid is the least of his worries.
  - benlakey 14y ago
    I'm most definitely not a designer. :-) If you're interested, it's just the 'Responsive' wordpress theme. http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/responsive http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/responsive
Danieru 14y ago
It's a standard open source wordpress theme, one of the popular ones: https://wordpress.org/extend/themes/responsive https://wordpress.org/extend/themes/responsive

keiferski 14y ago

My guess is that the color: is set to #404040, not black. Most people aren't aware that pure black is hard on the eyes; a slightly grey black is much more readable.

MaxGabriel 14y ago
Can you or Alex expand on this? I'd especially want to know if this was true on non-white backgrounds.
- alexpenny 14y ago
  Yes its especially true for non-white backgrounds. It all has to do with contrast. With black on white we have 100% contrast, if we use dark gray on light gray the contrast becomes say 70%. The lighter the contrast the easier it is on the eyes. Here's a quick example of what it looks like. http://cl.ly/1p103C2z1N220L1W213l http://cl.ly/1p103C2z1N220L1W213l
  - 4ad 14y ago
    > The lighter the contrast the easier it is on the eyes. Or not: http://contrastrebellion.com/ http://contrastrebellion.com/
    - alexpenny 14y ago
      Interesting link, but you're missing the point. The website even misses on their points. Most of the bad examples fit under an acceptable contrast ratio, by the standards given in their research, and even their good examples are not pure #000 or #fff. The w3c states that a minimum level of 3:1 works for people with 20/20 vision and 7:1 achieves the Triple-A standard. To show you what it looks like. http://cl.ly/0J3Q210X142x1h2m1G2v http://cl.ly/0J3Q210X142x1h2m1G2v for reference http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/visual-audio-contrast-contrast.html http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/visual-audio-contr... and contrast tool http://www.snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html http://www.snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html