Difference between revisions of "Coursemarker Guidelines"
(New page: == Font Choices == Periodically the question comes up about fonts to use for CMs. Feel free to play around and come up with thematic fonts on your CMs -- it'll add a nice touch. The obv...) |
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Periodically the question comes up about fonts to use for CMs. Feel free to play around and come up with thematic fonts on your CMs -- it'll add a nice touch. | Periodically the question comes up about fonts to use for CMs. Feel free to play around and come up with thematic fonts on your CMs -- it'll add a nice touch. | ||
The | The important criteria are: | ||
* 1, I and J look different | * 1, I and J look different | ||
* 0, O and Q look different | |||
* VV should not need a space to differentiate from W (but sometimes does) | * VV should not need a space to differentiate from W (but sometimes does) | ||
* Wide stroke | * Wide stroke (legible at a distance) | ||
* Double-letters (especially WW, MM, OO, etc.) fit the page | |||
Some people prefer, because they're easier to read: | Some people prefer, because they're easier to read: | ||
| Line 19: | Line 21: | ||
* New Century Schoolbook (strokes are too light, VV runs into W space) | * New Century Schoolbook (strokes are too light, VV runs into W space) | ||
* Helvetica (strokes again too light, no serifs make distinguishing some letters harder) | * Helvetica (strokes again too light, no serifs make distinguishing some letters harder) | ||
* Helvetica Narrow Bold (VV and II look better with a space between the letters, I has no serifs and could be a 1; however WW fits the page even at 360pt) | |||
* Comic Sans (some characters came out funny, but I don't remember what) | * Comic Sans (some characters came out funny, but I don't remember what) | ||
Revision as of 01:25, 26 July 2007
Font Choices
Periodically the question comes up about fonts to use for CMs. Feel free to play around and come up with thematic fonts on your CMs -- it'll add a nice touch.
The important criteria are:
- 1, I and J look different
- 0, O and Q look different
- VV should not need a space to differentiate from W (but sometimes does)
- Wide stroke (legible at a distance)
- Double-letters (especially WW, MM, OO, etc.) fit the page
Some people prefer, because they're easier to read:
- Serifed (tends to go with 1, I, and J being well differentiated)
Successful fonts that have been used are:
- Goudy Extra Bold
- OCR-A Extended
- Copperplate
Things that have worked OK but not great:
- New Century Schoolbook (strokes are too light, VV runs into W space)
- Helvetica (strokes again too light, no serifs make distinguishing some letters harder)
- Helvetica Narrow Bold (VV and II look better with a space between the letters, I has no serifs and could be a 1; however WW fits the page even at 360pt)
- Comic Sans (some characters came out funny, but I don't remember what)
Some fonts that give trouble:
- Gill Sans (1, I indistinguishable)
- Arial (ditto)
- Various weird titling fonts for various reasons
General Layout
Set the margins in your document small, and be prepared to fiddle with the paragraph/line spacing. The font size is "huge". A standard 8.5"x11" page is 612 points across and 792 points down. The exact font size to use varies substantially with the font, though. Something in the range of 300 points is a good starting place, and then you'll need to tweak.
Get as large as you can. Something most people don't realize is how large street signs really are.