Thursday 18 June 2026 (1pm BST)
What really makes text easy to read, and why does it sometimes fail us?Legibility may seem straightforward, but research shows it’s shaped by a surprisingly complex mix of design decisions, human perception, and real-world conditions.
In this seminar, Robert Jarzec brings together cutting-edge legibility research and the lived experience of type designers and typographers. He explores how we recognise letters and words, how typographic choices influence that process, and why legibility can never be fully separated from readability – the comfort and ease with which text is absorbed.
From lighting, distance, contrast, and media, to language proficiency, cognitive load, and environmental distractions, Robert unpacks the many factors that affect how quickly and accurately we read. The result is a deeper understanding of how typographic design and information environments can support – or hinder – clear and inclusive communication.
About the speaker
Robert Jarzec – type designer, PhD and academic. Robert has designed custom typefaces for the Silesian Metropolitan Transportation, Polish Central Transport Hub, the biggest Central-Eastern European energy supplier ORLEN and Polish National Television, among the others. He works as an independent designer and consultant. He has a doctoral degree in arts (thesis: Legibility of typefaces in visual information systems). He currently teaches type design and typography at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Katowice, and at the University of the Arts in Poznan, Poland.
About the event
Tickets are free for paid-up SDS members, otherwise £19 per person, available to purchase via the SDS Administrator (please email: enquiries@signdesignsociety.co.uk for more information). Unable to make the seminar on the day? You can buy time-limited access to the talk recording too.
Tickets are non-refundable, unless the seminar is cancelled. We are unable to accept credit card payments over the phone.