Text size

Osgood wrote:

darrel wrote:

Common sense.



Look around, Osgood. The population in this country is aging. Monitor
resolutions are increasing. Portable display devices are shrinking.


Just because you are 80 or 90 it doesnt mean that your eyesight cannot
be corrected with the aid of glasses to the point where you can read a
book or newspaper comfortably. If that were the case publications really
would have to be thinking about enlarging the size of the text they use
to cater for all these aging people.


Just because its the web doesnt mean to say the presentation should
suffer.



Presentation is enhanced when the end-users can read your type.



What makes you think they cant when using pixels?


It does because of its limitations but you can give it a helping hand
if its possible.



You say limitations. Other's say benefits. ;o)


What can be achieve in prnt design cannot always be accomplished in web
design so I don't see the benefits as you call it.


It doesnt matter what PPI the end users monitor is set at. px, ems, %
WILL all decrease, or enlarge in size from what you set it at.



Uh...right. That's my point. 11px isn't the same size across the board
as you seem to assume it is.


Bob using an 800*600 monitor may read your site just fine. Next time
he's at the library and stuck with the 1280x1600...whoa! His type just
shrunk 75%! ouch. Granted, a well designed site will allow him to
resize that as he needs to.


My point is my presentation will be the same x-browser, small or large.
Allowing the end user to have initial control of your site it wont be.
My job is to present a page how I proportionally want it to be
represented. After I have done that job I can do no more. If the end
user then requires to use the zoom tool thats ok by me.

So basically if you're serious about accessibility you would need a
'screen resolution sniffer' to feed a different style sheets to cater
for this situation.


No, if you're serious about web design, you realize that people may
change your spec's easily to accomodate their particular needs and
design for that.


Thats just rubbish. Who the hell changes their browers default text
size, god forbid the screen resolution. If you were to conduct a survey
I'm willing to bet the majority would'nt have a clue what youre talking
about. Its a plug and play world we live it.


There are some excellent commercial site designs out there, which
push the boundaries in terms of design. I believe that sometimes if
you only come from a web designer background you don't push the
envelope in presentation enough and so stagnate.


Sounds like you are advocating that form should trump function?


Nope, what Im saying is its easier to sell a good visual concept
designed by a competent designer than one that is designed by a web
programmer that isnt.

Both designing and being able to code efficiently are equally
important but if I have to choose one over the other Id would say
being able to design is more important because that IS the end
product and the end product is what people buy.



'Coding' is design too.


I dont see that point at all. Code is functional I would'nt call it
design. Infact it has little to do with design. Not many people like
looking at code, its not very exciting, unless of cause you are a web
techie.


Different things with a lot in common. Design sells.



You're talking about decoration and layout. Design is much, much more
than just that.


I think I addressed that above.



I know this thread is pretty old, but whatever...

My 2 cents.

I'm 52 years old.

I've worn glasses since I was in 6th grade, because I was short-sighted.

A couple years ago I developed the (predictable) middle-aged
short-sightedness.

Unlike my expectations, the short- and long-sightedness didn't cancel
each other out. :-(

When I read a book or newspaper, I just take my glasses off.

That doesn't work for websites.

I enlarge the text.

I know how to do it in I.E.

Point? Hell, I don't even remember anymore! :-)

--
Bonnie in California
kroko at
sbcglobal dot net
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CTDSites.woa