"Truth" in Specifications

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Author Message William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: wpegues Post Number: 937 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - 11:10 am:    Ok, not what you think -grin! The following link is to an article about a study done with different fonts and their influence on the perception of the reader. Interesting results as to whether or not any article being read is more or less 'truthful' based only on the font. http://m.fastcompany.com/3046365/errol-morris-how-typography-shapes-our-perception-of-truth?partner=rss William William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS, SCIP Affiliate WDG Architecture, Washington, DC | Dallas, TX Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: michael_chusid Post Number: 37 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - 02:23 pm:    William's post was sufficient diversion for me to lose an hour to procrastination. I have read the Fast Company article and the New York Times piece upon which it is based. The impact of typefaces is well known to those of us that dabble in marketing communications (sales literature and websites). I share several observations: 1. The typeface for specifications should be selected based on legibility, not "truthfulness". Arial, Helvetica, Times, Times Roman, Courier and other commonly used typefaces are all good in this regard. Pick the one you like or use your employer's standard. 2. Be very skeptical of research until the results have been replicated. 3. The study's sample was a self-selected group of people that read online opinion blogs in the New York Times. Do the results apply to print (hardcopy)? Will construction superintendents respond with a similar manner? Will the response vary when someone is looking at a several hundred page book instead of a single paragraph? 4. I need to stop writing this before I lose another hour of work, and that's the truth. Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS www.chusid.com www.buildingproduct.guru George A. Everding, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: geverding Post Number: 791 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - 03:54 pm:    Notice that they used "truthiness" in the article - I wonder if the reference to Colbert was intentional - knowing intuitively that something is true, with out reference to fact, reason or research. Truth is beauty, beauty truth, and it all comes from the gut.