Sofie Beier
List of John Benjamins publications in which Sofie Beier is involved.
2024 Enhancing distance reading for low vision: A reading acuity experiment on letter width Information Design Journal 29:3, pp. 223–239 | Article
This research explores typographic adjustments, specifically letter width, and their impact on patients with various visual conditions. These patients were divided into three groups of interest according to the visual condition they presented: blurry vision (N = 15), central vision loss (N = 11)… read more
2024 Script-style degrees: Letter recognition in regular versus special fonts Information Design Journal 29:1, pp. 25–35 | Article
Previous work has shown that letters presented in special fonts with a high degree of script style have a poor recognition rate. We investigated whether there is a breaking point where this deficit sets in. In an experimental paradigm using a three-letter string partial report, 32 participants… read more
2021 Increased letter spacing and greater letter width improve reading acuity in low vision readers Information Design Journal 26:1, pp. 73–88 | Article
Low vision readers depend on magnification, but magnification reduces the amount of text that can be overviewed and hampers text navigation. In this study, we evaluate the effects that font variations letter spacing, letter width, and letter boldness have on low vision reading. We tested 20… read more
2021 Simplification of pharmaceutical pictograms to improve visual acuity Information Design Journal 26:3, pp. 175–192 | Article
The purpose of pharmaceutical pictograms is to help patients manage their medicinal treatment. However, the pictograms often lack perceptual clarity. While they are frequently tested for aspects such as comprehension, little attention has been paid to their legibility. This paper presents the… read more
2016 Investigating typographic differentiation: Italics are more subtle than bold for emphasis Information Design Journal 22:1, pp. 3–18 | Article
Text designers are likely to benefit from guidance on how to use typographic differentiation for emphasis. Three experiments use purposely-designed fonts to explore the size and nature of differences in the stylistic characteristics of fonts (weight, width, contrast, italic) which affect letter… read more
2013 How does typeface familiarity affect reading performance and reader preference? Information Design Journal 20:1, pp. 16–31 | Article
Some typographers have proposed that typeface familiarity is defined by the amount of time that a reader has been exposed to a typeface design, while other typographers have proposed that familiarity is defined by the commonalities in letter shapes. These two hypotheses were tested by measuring the… read more
