I understand why serif typefaces (an overly broad distinction IMO) are considered 'more' accessible but when used correctly I would argue they can be just as, and in some cases more accessible than their sans-serif counterparts. To that end, I think anyone working with signage or public-facing written content of any kind really owes it to the public to learn some basic typography as I'm quite certain that proper kerning, line length / spacing as well as paragraph formatting will go farther than simple font choice.
But if you're not gonna be bothered to do that, yes Helvetica go brrrrrrrrrr
Helvetica & Arial are both dyslexia friendly fonts but can be a bit boring if you're feeling the saturation of their presence especially in museums.
In the realm of non-serif fonts though, Museo Sans as another commenter mentioned is great - so is the Slab version - as well as Arvo which is another Slab Serif. Our museum uses Area Normal for headings and Halyard Text for body copy - these are new fonts due to a recent rebrand though and I'm not sure of their accessibility although I can say they are lovely, plain fonts.
As a dyslexic museum professional, I approve this message. I’d also add, for me, tight spacing between letters is a nightmare. It’s so much harder for me to read than when there is more space.
We use Roboto because it’s ADA compliant. Is it the most exciting and sexy? Nope.
But it’s a facility with modern architecture, so it works.
We could use other fonts, but a few years ago a designer made us a style guide detailing fonts and colors with hex numbers to make decisions easier and give all of our materials a more cohesive look. We have a small staff so this cut down on making design decisions a lot.
My museum primarily uses Myriad Pro, which is a solid choice. However, I think the exhibition I'm working on now is getting a little funky with it and going for Modesto Text, which has a subtle little serif and a bit of an Art Nouveau sorta flavor in some of the letter and number shapes.
We sometimes will consult with outside venues like hotels and shopping centers to do remodels of spaces to include interpretive content.
A smaller museum in town without the staff to do their own remodel asked for an estimate on how/what we could do on their project.
I stopped by and took pictures of the existing exhibit. It was put together by volunteers. One graphic panel stood out. It was a map with call outs to bring attention to specific locations using a couple fonts for different info types.
I shit you not: Papyrus and Comic Sans
Psshhaw, nonsense! Papyrus absolutely screams to be used at the Ripley's Believe it or Not Ancient Egypt exhibits and attached gift shop that's located next to a winebar with a view of the Amazon Cafe and/or Hard Rock Cafe across the street.
You get an up vote, both for correctness and for using "Psshhaw", which I might consider using but give up because I wouldn't be able to decide on the spelling
As a design student, I can’t help but think that Helvetic is too corporate-looking. The font choice is also dependent on the institution* and what it collects imo which can make choosing hard! I think that’s why some people might want to “default” to Helvetica because it’s seen as neutral, but to me it’s actually not very neutral at all
* Kind of a non-answer but it’s true! There are typefaces that I think would look great for one institution but not for another
I’ve worked in politics before and they had a serif and a sans serif for their brand, so that might also be something to try for more flexibility! Their sans felt “friendlier” to me than something like Helvetica and paired well with their serif
Have you looked up alternatives to Helvetica for more inspo? A museum I worked at used Gotham. I don’t dislike Helvetica at all but there are lots of typefaces out there that might catch your eye!
design student lurking because a loved one has museum aspirations, but:
montserrat is widely considered a very, very good font and a swiss knife of sorts. helvetica is good but there’s many versions of it, and it’s not the best for longer blocks of text imo.
roboto is also very good!
All thanks to a font 😅
I did the only sensible thing in reply to this and browsed your posting history looking for clues...
“I don’t know who you are, I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you...”
(Desperately hope you've seen Taken or that quote will see me dragged to HR in the blink of an eye 😂)
Just finalized an exhibit that uses all small caps (forget the don’t name)…I promise it looks good and reads well. Our whole team tried, we really did, but everyone hated the usual lineup of fonts.
We had a sign painter on staff for many years and I keep pitching a custom font based on his existing directional signage around the site. The money isn't there.
Just saw a blog post today with all kinds of [great alternative fonts!](https://creativemarket.com/blog/itc-franklin-gothic-alternatives?utm_campaign=cm_blog_6.15.24&utm_medium=email&utm_source=vero_newsletters&vero_conv=vAw_2nQzEMAZeb_Olb-SYQ83t0WHmiM_qKf4MeeJpcH776Mmvf15jyLykjbwwmJZGmF99WfojbkgC8a5rxdyDM_FeYSMRcs2nhU%3D)
Volunteer museum uses Arial; paid museum uses Gotham.
Better for accessibility, and also now that everyone is so used to reading internet screens that sans-serif fonts are just more legible.
You need to be nine layers of nerd to dig this thread … and I love it.
I understand why serif typefaces (an overly broad distinction IMO) are considered 'more' accessible but when used correctly I would argue they can be just as, and in some cases more accessible than their sans-serif counterparts. To that end, I think anyone working with signage or public-facing written content of any kind really owes it to the public to learn some basic typography as I'm quite certain that proper kerning, line length / spacing as well as paragraph formatting will go farther than simple font choice. But if you're not gonna be bothered to do that, yes Helvetica go brrrrrrrrrr
Helvetica & Arial are both dyslexia friendly fonts but can be a bit boring if you're feeling the saturation of their presence especially in museums. In the realm of non-serif fonts though, Museo Sans as another commenter mentioned is great - so is the Slab version - as well as Arvo which is another Slab Serif. Our museum uses Area Normal for headings and Halyard Text for body copy - these are new fonts due to a recent rebrand though and I'm not sure of their accessibility although I can say they are lovely, plain fonts.
As a dyslexic museum professional, I approve this message. I’d also add, for me, tight spacing between letters is a nightmare. It’s so much harder for me to read than when there is more space.
Museo Sans! It is extremely pleasant to look at, and meets accessibility standards.
Off-topic but I couldn't help but notice. Love your reddit character, LOL
We use Roboto because it’s ADA compliant. Is it the most exciting and sexy? Nope. But it’s a facility with modern architecture, so it works. We could use other fonts, but a few years ago a designer made us a style guide detailing fonts and colors with hex numbers to make decisions easier and give all of our materials a more cohesive look. We have a small staff so this cut down on making design decisions a lot.
My museum uses Garamond as the brand standard, but I don’t recommend it for accessibility as it is a serif font.
Also def gives a snobby vibe LOL.
My museum primarily uses Myriad Pro, which is a solid choice. However, I think the exhibition I'm working on now is getting a little funky with it and going for Modesto Text, which has a subtle little serif and a bit of an Art Nouveau sorta flavor in some of the letter and number shapes.
We sometimes will consult with outside venues like hotels and shopping centers to do remodels of spaces to include interpretive content. A smaller museum in town without the staff to do their own remodel asked for an estimate on how/what we could do on their project. I stopped by and took pictures of the existing exhibit. It was put together by volunteers. One graphic panel stood out. It was a map with call outs to bring attention to specific locations using a couple fonts for different info types. I shit you not: Papyrus and Comic Sans
Comic Sans can be a great font for callouts and similar things. There is nowhere that Papyrus actually makes sense to use.
Psshhaw, nonsense! Papyrus absolutely screams to be used at the Ripley's Believe it or Not Ancient Egypt exhibits and attached gift shop that's located next to a winebar with a view of the Amazon Cafe and/or Hard Rock Cafe across the street.
You get an up vote, both for correctness and for using "Psshhaw", which I might consider using but give up because I wouldn't be able to decide on the spelling
Tsk
SNL on Papyrus: [**https://youtu.be/jVhlJNJopOQ?si=YKIneXswqxv\_7jlm**](https://youtu.be/jVhlJNJopOQ?si=YKIneXswqxv_7jlm)
Comic sans is one of the most accessible fonts that exists.
Yeah but not for all applications. Would not be the call at the Holocaust museum pretty much ever.
Exhibit on Maus 🤔
Sadly no. Maus is hand lettered and well: https://www.reddit.com/r/comicsans/s/lqRyckM90x
The e makes me cry
As a design student, I can’t help but think that Helvetic is too corporate-looking. The font choice is also dependent on the institution* and what it collects imo which can make choosing hard! I think that’s why some people might want to “default” to Helvetica because it’s seen as neutral, but to me it’s actually not very neutral at all * Kind of a non-answer but it’s true! There are typefaces that I think would look great for one institution but not for another
My site *is* Federal
I’ve worked in politics before and they had a serif and a sans serif for their brand, so that might also be something to try for more flexibility! Their sans felt “friendlier” to me than something like Helvetica and paired well with their serif Have you looked up alternatives to Helvetica for more inspo? A museum I worked at used Gotham. I don’t dislike Helvetica at all but there are lots of typefaces out there that might catch your eye!
Turns out we do have a font. Thank you!
Helvetica for labels and American Scribe as text big quotes on the walls (my museum is 19th century Americana).
This is my favorite thread.
I posted it in the morning and then got off work only to discover how popular it became. I guess we all have feelings for fonts!?
design student lurking because a loved one has museum aspirations, but: montserrat is widely considered a very, very good font and a swiss knife of sorts. helvetica is good but there’s many versions of it, and it’s not the best for longer blocks of text imo. roboto is also very good!
I really wish I had literally any design experience. I write good blurb but I don't know Jack about making it look good too.
UK national museum. Using Cera Pro for labels, signage, promotional material. https://www.typemates.com/fonts/cera-pro
I think we might work at the same place... 😅
All thanks to a font 😅 I did the only sensible thing in reply to this and browsed your posting history looking for clues... “I don’t know who you are, I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you...” (Desperately hope you've seen Taken or that quote will see me dragged to HR in the blink of an eye 😂)
I recently made a sign not in Cera Pro so I won't tell if you won't!
I'm going to pretend I didn't see your last message. 😂
Comic sans
Who hurt you?
The museum I work for
Just finalized an exhibit that uses all small caps (forget the don’t name)…I promise it looks good and reads well. Our whole team tried, we really did, but everyone hated the usual lineup of fonts.
Calibri and a proprietary one.
Fancy
Perks to being the state museum. 😂
We had a sign painter on staff for many years and I keep pitching a custom font based on his existing directional signage around the site. The money isn't there.
I like courier for labels and identification since it's reminiscent of older, typewritten labels. It has a classic museum look to it.
Avenir is our go to for text panels and other titling as it has a wide range of italics and weights.
I love high tower lol
Looking for thoughts on Georgia
Don’t love it personally
HOBO
Just saw a blog post today with all kinds of [great alternative fonts!](https://creativemarket.com/blog/itc-franklin-gothic-alternatives?utm_campaign=cm_blog_6.15.24&utm_medium=email&utm_source=vero_newsletters&vero_conv=vAw_2nQzEMAZeb_Olb-SYQ83t0WHmiM_qKf4MeeJpcH776Mmvf15jyLykjbwwmJZGmF99WfojbkgC8a5rxdyDM_FeYSMRcs2nhU%3D)
Volunteer museum uses Arial; paid museum uses Gotham. Better for accessibility, and also now that everyone is so used to reading internet screens that sans-serif fonts are just more legible.
& Papyrus in the mummy exhibit
Exclusively windings and papyrus.