1. Use font testing tools
Using online font testing tools is a convenient and efficient way to assess how fonts appear across different devices and platforms.
Font Tester:
- Features: Font Tester allows you to input your own text and test it with different fonts, sizes, and colors. It provides a quick preview of how your selected font will look in a real setting.
URL: Font Tester
Fonts Ninja:
- Features: Fonts Ninja is a browser extension that lets you identify fonts on any webpage. It also provides details about the font, such as size, line height, and color. This can be helpful for analyzing font choices on existing websites.
- URL: Fonts Ninja
Typetester:
- Features: Typetester allows you to compare multiple fonts side by side. You can customize the text, font size, and style attributes to see how different fonts stack up against each other.
URL: Typetester
WhatFont:
- Features: WhatFont is a browser extension that lets you identify fonts on any webpage by simply hovering over the text. It provides information about the font family, size, style, and color.
URL: WhatFont
Fontface Ninja:
- Features: Fontface Ninja is another browser extension that allows you to inspect, try, and buy fonts on any website. It provides details about the font and lets you test it in different sizes.
URL: Fontface Ninja
2. Conduct user testing
An alternative method to evaluate font readability across various devices and platforms involves implementing user testing and seeking feedback. This entails enlisting actual users to engage with your font on their respective devices and platforms, gathering insights and opinions. Utilizing online platforms like UsabilityHub, UserTesting, or UserZoom allows you to recruit and oversee participants, as well as create and administer tests and surveys. Additionally, analytics tools like Google Analytics, Hotjar, or Crazy Egg can aid in monitoring and assessing user behavior and interaction with your font.
3. Apply readability guidelines and best practices
To guarantee the readability of fonts across diverse devices and platforms, it is essential to adhere to readability guidelines and adopt best practices. These guidelines encompass general principles and recommendations aimed at selecting fonts that are easily readable and comprehensible for your target audience. For instance, opt for fonts that align with your brand identity and convey the appropriate tone, are well-suited for your medium and format, exhibit clarity and consistency across various devices and platforms, provide sufficient contrast with the background, feature appropriate size, spacing, alignment, and hierarchy, and minimize variation, decoration, and distortion.
4. Test font accessibility
A fourth method to assess font readability across diverse devices and platforms involves examining font performance and accessibility. This entails evaluating how your chosen font impacts factors like loading speed, responsiveness, and usability on your website or app, and assessing its compatibility with the needs and preferences of users with varying abilities and disabilities. Utilizing tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or Pingdom can aid in testing font performance, optimizing it for quicker loading times, and enhancing overall user experience. Additionally, tools such as WebAIM, WAVE, or A11y can be employed to evaluate font accessibility, ensuring alignment with the web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG).
5. Explore with different font combinations
A fifth approach to evaluating font readability across diverse devices and platforms involves exploring various font combinations. This entails experimenting with different pairs or groups of fonts to find combinations that synergize well and establish a unified and cohesive appearance for your brand identity. Utilizing tools like FontPair, Fontjoy, or Canva Font Combinations can assist in generating and testing font combinations based on criteria like style, mood, genre, or industry. Additionally, platforms such as Adobe Fonts, Google Fonts, or Font Squirrel offer resources to browse and download fonts aligning with your specific needs and preferences.
6. Find font examples
A sixth method for assessing font readability across diverse devices and platforms involves examining font examples and seeking inspiration. This entails studying how other brands and designers incorporate fonts into their brand identity and communication, gaining insights from both their achievements and errors. Platforms like Behance, Dribbble, or Pinterest offer opportunities to discover and delve into font examples and inspiration spanning different fields and niches. Additionally, platforms like Awwwards, Typewolf, or Fonts In Use provide insights into font trends and best practices in web design and typography for analysis and reference.