Having maximum legibility for text, images and charts is essential for anyone interested in design. It could be representing data on a monitor, a book, website or magazine. There are some set rules and guidelines that can make legibility stronger and with more impact. In fact some of these rules can be seen in this 1939 copy of a book by Willard Cope Brinton that explaines how colour can make certain custom printed items look clearer and more superior than others.

Colour Not Font Size

A lot of people mistakenly assume that having maximum legibility means making the print as big as possible. This possibly can be counter productive especially if the print is so large that it fails to attract attention, or that the print is larger than a viewers natural line of sight.

Colours however can make a huge difference to visibility in logos and text. The most visible colour combination is Black text on a Yellow background. Surprised? Well think about how most road signs actually are in this colour.

Who would have thought that some writer/designer all the way back in 1939 would have knowledge of basic design concepts on colour that are so essential to things like websites, App's and road signs today in 2015? Most of the colour concepts listed can easily apply to every single promotional product you see on our website, including our entire collection of colourful promotional pens among others.

See excerpts of the book here: http://www.fastcodesign.com/3052263/infographic-of-the-day/this-1939-chart-explains-how-color-affects-legibility