2.1 Word Case

For continuous text, lowercase works the best. The argument that word recognition is aided by the outline shape of the entire word, has recently been under debate. In a white paper for Microsoft Kevin Larson argues that “The bulk of scientific evidence says that we recognize a word’s component letters, then use that visual information to recognize a word.”(Larson 2004).  But, as he observes, typographers commonly hold onto the Word Shape recognition model. For the purpose of this paper, and not to be drawn into an issue that would lead us too far away from that purpose, we recognize word shapes for practical and historical reasons. We still recommend that words in lowercase are more legible than those in all caps. The pattern created by lowercase has more contrast than the uppercase pattern, which creates a better environment for reading. For title and headings initial caps is preferred. At smaller sizes, however, well spaced capitals can be more visible than lowercase, but should be avoided for use of continuous reading.