Unit 2: How People Read

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People (Voices That Matter) by Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D.

Chapter 2: How People Read

The way people read, isn't as fluid as one might think. Ours eyes move in quick jumps from word to word with short periods of stillness. These two patterns are called saccades and fixations. Saccades are the jumps that occur roughly seven to nine letters at a time. Fixations are the moments of stillness that occur for about 250 milliseconds at a time (Weinschenk). In addition to these two reading patterns, people use their peripheral vision to read ahead about fifteen letters.

Anticipating what is to come is more important than the exact spelling of words. Fro empaxle, msot msipllsed wodrs are sltil liglebe as lnog as the frsit and lsat lteters are in the rghit psotoin. This is because the brain has an easier time anticipating and interpreting than deciphering every word.

The rest of the reading goes on to discuss the importance of headlines, font size, pattern recognition, and column width. Mostly review, but equally as important.