END SMALL TYPE!

Today I am establishing the End Small Type campaign, a nonprofit citizen initiative seeking to have printed documents adhere to minimum front sizes.

As the number of people in the 50+ demographic increases, the percentage of people in America with impaired reading vision will continue to grow. People with low vision are not blind but their vision is impaired by aging, heredity, or injury. People in this situation often have difficulty reading printed verbiage when the font size is too small.

Many observers say that type font sizes on printed documents are continuing to get smaller.  “Fine print” is more than a way to conceal terms and conditions.  It limits people with low vision from fully participating in society.

Legally, it all comes down to legibility, a subjective measure. Legibility is literally in the eye of the beholder.

When dealing with the practical and legal implications of font size there are two things to consider:

1. The medium.

2. Is the text legible in that medium?

We are concentrating on the printed documents in this post.

Physical documents are frequently the way transactions, agreements and official orders are saved and codified. Without visual access to these documents, misunderstanding occurs.

Font sizes for physical documents are regulated in many places in the country.  For instance, California law requires those presenting documents to the State can not have a font size smaller than 12 points:

In many jurisdictions the minimum font size standard is 6 pt.  

Disclaimer statements get extra scrutiny. The minimum standard for disclaimer text is 6pt if it's on a dark background; 5pt if it's on a white or very light colored background

Recently a battle over font size rules happened when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) established a rule that would allow people to sue banks and credit card companies in class action suits if the printed terms and conditions are not legible. Banks and credit card companies are now lobbying to overturn the CFPB rule

CASE STUDY: GOLDEN VALLEY, MINNESOTA

My wife and I live in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a first-ring suburb, on the west side of Minneapolis. Like many close-in suburban areas, the average age of the residents of Golden Valley is getting older.

In October 2016, I received a postcard from the City of Golden Valley, announcing the annual fall clean up of leaves and other yard waste.

Here is a high-resolution scan of the postcard (actual size is 3.5” by 5”):

Anyone with low vision knows the frustration of receiving notifications that are impossible to read because of too small font size. The Golden Valley postcard is clearly not legible.

Shep Harris

In 2016, I decided to tell the City about problem hoping  they would make future notificationslegible

I sent this email to Shep Harris, the mayor of Golden Valley: 

Mayor Harris called me and he told me that he understood my concern. Mayor Harris told me he would instruct the people responsible to correct the problem.

Unfortunately, Mayor Harris did not act.  This October I received exactly the same postcard from the City:

Mayor Harris did nothing to help Golden Valley residents with low vision know what the City was saying.

So now, End Small Fonts is asking Mayor Shep Harris and the City of Golden Valley to enact minimum font size guidelines. I want my home city to be the nation’s leader in giving citizens access to official documents.