Evaluating college students’ performance of Arabic typeface style, font size, page layout and foreground/background color combinations of e-book materials

The present study was conducted to explore students’ preference of Arabic typeface style, font size, page layout, and foreground/background color combinations of written materials. Legibility and readability guidelines described in the literature are written for Western readers; make it difficult for e-book providers to know exactly what recommendations to follow in Arabic. First, the participants completed the font style selection process from among all the Arabic font styles available in Windows. They were then asked to select the typeface style (Simplified, Traditional, Kofi, and Nassekh) and font size (10-, 12-, and 14-point) they preferred when reading e-passages. Finally, they read another group of e-passages in the typeface style and font size they had selected in one- and two-column formats with four foreground/background color combinations. To assess their reading speed and comprehension as well as their preferences, we asked questions about the information they had read. In Experiment 1, 49 participants preferred 170 font styles from a pool of 877 presented in 12-point font size. In Experiment 2, 31 participants selected 14-pt Arabic simplified as a good readable font style for next experiment. In Experiment 3, 31 participants preferred to read Arabic materials in one column with black/white for foreground/background color combination. Participants were able to read the e-materials significantly faster and with better comprehension when they were presented in 14-pt Arabic simplified font style in one column with black/white for foreground/background color.