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Kes: Wikipedia has a good article on sans serif
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sans-serif_font
which includes some great links re sans serif's long association with blind people and accessibility (I'm including the definition for those who may not be clear on what sans serif means).
block quote start
In typography, a sans-serif or sans serif typeface is one that does not have the small features called 'serifs" [projecting outward] at the end of strokes. The term comes from the Latin word for "sign," via the French word sans meaning "without."
....In 1786, a rounded sans-serif font was developed by
Valentin Haüy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentin_Ha%C3%BCy
[who established the first school for the blind]
first appeared in the book titled "Essai sur l'éducation des aveugles" (An Essay on the Education of the Blind).
The purpose of this font was to be invisible and address accessibility. It was designed to emboss paper and allow the blind to read with their fingers. The design was eventually known as Haüy type.
block quote end
To read more about this first tactile book produced for blind people, go to
http://www.aph.org/museum/first_book.html
and this Web page includes descriptions of a number of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century blind people who developed their own writing systems
http://www.brailler.com/braillehx.htm
For more on personal preference in typography, check out this excellent article which is part of a series on typography
http://www.tomontheweb2.ca/CMX/17109/
For more on sans serif typefaces, go to
http://www.linotype.com/en/795/thesansseriftypefaces.html?PHPSESSID=1786212ba18e51adcb690e2292301f97
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sans-serif_font
which includes some great links re sans serif's long association with blind people and accessibility (I'm including the definition for those who may not be clear on what sans serif means).
block quote start
In typography, a sans-serif or sans serif typeface is one that does not have the small features called 'serifs" [projecting outward] at the end of strokes. The term comes from the Latin word for "sign," via the French word sans meaning "without."
....In 1786, a rounded sans-serif font was developed by
Valentin Haüy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentin_Ha%C3%BCy
[who established the first school for the blind]
first appeared in the book titled "Essai sur l'éducation des aveugles" (An Essay on the Education of the Blind).
The purpose of this font was to be invisible and address accessibility. It was designed to emboss paper and allow the blind to read with their fingers. The design was eventually known as Haüy type.
block quote end
To read more about this first tactile book produced for blind people, go to
http://www.aph.org/museum/first_book.html
and this Web page includes descriptions of a number of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century blind people who developed their own writing systems
http://www.brailler.com/braillehx.htm
For more on personal preference in typography, check out this excellent article which is part of a series on typography
http://www.tomontheweb2.ca/CMX/17109/
For more on sans serif typefaces, go to
http://www.linotype.com/en/795/thesansseriftypefaces.html?PHPSESSID=1786212ba18e51adcb690e2292301f97
