Letterform Legibility and Visual Perception: a speculation

Abstract

“Roman capital letters first achieved the forms we know today about AD 100. … At their most formal they are based on very simple geometric shapessymbols for the sounds in a language. And each letter is successful as a symbol because its shape is hard to confuse with the others and is easy to memorize.” (Sutton & Bartram, 1968, p. 6) This short paper explores a straightforward insight: that the basic features of visual perception map instructively onto the letterform skeletons of the Latin alphabet. Linking findings from visual perception with knowledge about typography and reading might advance our knowledge of how letterforms function visually. This knowledge could be used to develop a formal measure of letterform legibility, to provide means to distinguish between a text and a display typeface, and to provide guidance for typeface design.