Assessing the Effect of Typography on In-Vehicle Glance-Like Reading Across the Lifespan

017014582017Year 25 Final ReportPDFTech ReportMITR25-13DTRT13-G-UTC31Digital displaysInformation display systemsContrastLuminous intensityLegibilityBehaviorDriversfontstypographyglance timeIn-vehicle displaysReadabilityUnited StatesNew England University Transportation CenterReimer, BryanDobres, JonathanMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyNew England University Transportation CenterUniversity Transportation Centers Program (U.S.)United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) ProgramUS Transportation CollectionFonts communicate an interface\u2019s style and identity, and are also a critical design element of that interface. In safety, critical applications such as driving an automobile, basic readability and the ability to quickly target and identify information of interest is critical to reducing workload and preventing distraction. The importance of providing a driver with a visual user interface in which controls can be rapidly identified and information easily read appears self-evident. Previous research has shown that the typeface used in an interface can meaningfully impact driver behavior, as measured by task completion time, error rates, and cumulative glance time to the device screen. Our earliest work in this area examined the design of the typefaces themselves, while holding extrinsic factors such as lighting, size, and line weight constant. Subsequent work examined how these factors interact with typeface design. Our most recent work under the auspice of this project further expanded these types of investigations to examine how legibility changes with rendering, illumination and contrast polarity, age, and how fonts are read in common highway signage configurations. The work is detailed across four publications and has been referenced in numerous popular press articles including Print, Design Week, Design Observer, Best Ride and others.88