Usability in communication design: typographic influence on content judgment and subjective confidence

Abstract

Though perceived trustworthiness is one of the most important characteristics of online contents, few empirical studies have been conducted examining the visual perception of typography and trustworthiness. This study investigates whether the shape of typeface can influence the perception of a message. We manipulated the appearance of typefaces' neotenic cues, and measured whether that affects a reader's perception of a story as true. The results indicate that the look and feel of a typeface doesn't change the judgment of the trustworthiness of a message, but that the visual cues influenced the subjective confidence in a reader's judgment.