Find a Sans Serif body font

[hungsu]

One person has commented that they find Sans serif easier to read. I don't like this much as almost all other Obsidian themes available are already Sans serif and this theme was created partly as a response to the sea of existing Sans options. But might be worth thinking about if we're to stick to the mission of being Obsidian's home base of typography

[WickedEngineer]

With respect to those favoring a sans serif font, I hope this theme retains the serif. The serif has been around since writing was invented, and I believe this is because it’s easier to read. I found a couple of studies that are relevant to this question. One found that a serif font only reduced legibility in very small font sizes, and this was primarily applicable to print. Another found that serifs aided cognitive processing, since our brains are better able to distinguish shapes with proportional spatial variations. Lastly, serif fonts are more readable to those with visual problems, including older individuals that use Obsidian.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042698905003007?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278262614000839

I could likely find authoritative sounding studies that say the opposite. But serifs are my preference, for what it’s worth.

[hungsu]

Really appreciate you taking the time to comment @ScribeCraft, and love the articles :D Yeah, I think the world's obsession with sans serif is a bit of a relic. But this was a real complaint from a real person so I have to consider it. I will probably never set sans serif as Typomagical's default, but adding it as an option is still on the cards.

[Calorion]

I would like an attractive sans serif option. It's more readable on screens. I still wouldn't use it most of the time, but I would like the option for occasional use.

[hungsu]

Hi @Calorion ! If you have Style Settings handy, could you reinstall Typomagical, and try the newly added Body Font setting in Typomagical Text Settings ?

[Calorion]

1. The link font is still sans-serif if you're not using the small caps.
2. It works fine, but the body text is a bit small. Frankly that's true for the serif as well. Is there a way to change the font size?

Thanks!

[hungsu]

Hi @Calorion ,

1. I've just pushed an update to add Sans serif to the list of options for the Link font setting
2. Text size is controlled in Obsidian, from Appearance -> Font size
   

[hungsu]

The x-height of Source Sans Pro is noticeably taller than that of Spectral and I'd like them to match. I may choose either a taller Serif, or a shorter Sans font.

[Calorion]

If you choose another sans serif, can you make it a little darker? Spectral is darker than Source Sans Pro at any given size, so when I switch between, I feel like I need to have Source Sans bigger to see it as clearly. Which means I'm not really using it. And contra @ScribeCraft, the studies I've seen, while agreeing that serif fonts are better for paper, say that sans serif is better for screens.