Readability and Legibility

When I worked in advertising, 40 years ago, I was taught that a serif type, such as Times Roman, was more readable than a sans serif type because the first words that we read in elementary school primers are in that family of typeface. The morning newspaper is also set in a serif font. We are more familiar with this font, and more comfortable when reading it. Readability, however, isn’t the same thing as legibility. Times Roman may be more pleasing to our eyes, but that doesn’t make it more legible.