Geof-Crowl / nasa-typography-flight-deck-documentation
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Monday, May 23rd 2016

NASA: On the Typography of Flight Deck Documentation link →

This PDF put out by NASA is an interesting read about the legibility and illegibility of certain typefaces and some of NASA's findings with typography.

NASA’s List of Design Recommendations
  • Sans-serif fonts are usually more legible than fonts with serifs.
  • Avoid using a font that has characters that are too similar to one another, as this will reduce the legibility of the print.
  • Avoid using dot matrix print for critical flight-deck documentation.
  • Long chunks of text should be set in lower case.
  • If upper case is required, the first letter of the word should be made larger in order to enhance the legibility of the word.
  • When specifying font height, or accessing graphs to determine the size of a lower-case character, the distinction between “x” height and overall size should be made.
  • As a general recommendation, the “x” height of a font used for important flight-deck documentation should not be below 0.10 inch.
  • The recommended height-to-width ratio of a font that is viewed in front of the observer is 5:3.
  • The vertical spacing between lines should not be smaller than 25–33% of the overall size of the font.
  • The horizontal spacing between characters should be 25% of the overall size and not less than one stroke width.
  • Avoid using long strings of text set in italics.
  • Use primarily one or two typefaces for emphasis.
  • Use black characters over a white background for most cockpit documentation.
  • Avoid using white characters over a black background in normal line operations. However, if this is desired:
  • Use minimum amount of text.
  • Use relatively large typesize.
  • Use sans-serif to minimize the loss of legibility.
  • Black over white or yellow are recommended for cockpit documentation.
  • Avoid using black over dark red, green, and blue.
  • Use anti-glare plastic to laminate documents.
  • Ensure that the quality of the print and the paper is well above normal standards. Poor quality of the print will effect legibility and readability.
  • The designer must assess the age groups of the pilots that will be using the documentation, and take a very conservative approach in assessing information obtained from graphs and data books.

Updated on Saturday, Feb. 15th 2020