Presentation Rules

Best Font Size Chart for Presentation Slide: Font Size Selection for a Presentation in a Large Hall

Can the person sitting in last row view text of your presentation slide clearly? Find out here

When choosing a font size, you should consider the size of the screen that you will make your presentation in and how far the audience will be from the screen. Moreover, the best font style with the right font size provides the maximum clarity in a presentation slide designed in either keynote or in PowerPoint.

Another thing that you should know is that different fonts come in different sizes. For example, Times New Roman tends to be smaller in size than Arial. Size also depends on text design factors like italics, colors and bold.

Which is the best font size for your PowerPoint presentation?

There is no easy answer to this question. So what can we consider to be the minimum font size? Most articles offer advice that the smallest font size is between 18 points and 36 points. The answer is however very simple. The smallest font size should be one that can be read by the person seated farthest from the screen. There is however a formula that was invented by Dave Paradi to evaluate the best font size. This formula has been arrived at based on road signs in the US that are designed for the average eye vision.

The Best Font Size for Maximum Viewing Distance for a 4:3 Screen

Assumptions

  • The projected image will cover the full length of the screen
  • Same visual acuity as the one for highway road signs is used which is 20/40
  • The screen has a 4:3 ratio of width and height

How to use the table for Font Size?

  • Choose the row that is the same with the width of your screen
  • Choose the column that is the same with your minimal text size
  • Where the row and column intersect, that is the furthest distance that the person at the back should be seated.
  • For example, if you have a 48-inch screen and the text is of 24 sizes, then the furthest person should be seated 36 feet from the screen.

Font Size Chat in Points for a Presentation Slide with aspect ratio 4:3

 Font Size 44 40 36 32 28 24 18
120 153 140 127 114 102 89 64
96 122 112 102 92 81 71 51
84 107 98 89 80 71 62 44
72 92 84 76 69 61 53 38
60 76 70 64 57 51 44 32
48 61 56 51 46 41 36 25
36 46 42 38 34 31 27 19

 

The Best Font Size for Maximum Viewing Distance for a 16:9 Screen

Assumptions

  • The projected image will cover the full length of the screen
  • Same visual acuity as the one for highway road signs is used which is 20/40
  • The screen has a 4:3 ratio of width and height

How to use this Font Size table?

  • Choose the row that is the same with the width of your screen
  • Choose the column that is the same with your minimal text size
  • Where the row and column intersect, that is the furthest distance that the person at the back should be seated.

For example, if you have a 42-inch screen and the text is of 28 sizes, then the furthest person should be seated 23 feet from the screen.

Font size in points

Font Size Chat in Points for a Presentation Slide with aspect ratio 16:9

 Font Size 44 40 36 32 28 24 18
80 66 61 55 50 44 39 28
72 60 55 50 45 40 35 25
60 50 46 41 37 33 29 21
52 43 40 36 32 29 25 18
47 39 36 32 29 26 23 16
42 35 32 29 26 23 20 15
36 30 27 25 22 20 18 12
32 27 24 22 20 18 15 11
27 22 21 19 17 15 12 9
22 18 17 15 14 12 11 8
19 16 14 13 12 11 9 7
15 12 11 10 9 8 7 5

8H Rule of Font Size Selection:

There is also another formula for font size selection that is known as the 8H rule. This one compares the font height to the size of the screen available.

In as much as these formulas exist, there are very few people who use them. As such, it is important to have recommendations that can work anytime. If you do not know the size of the screen and the exact distance of the audience, then you should follow the guidelines below:

  • 36 points to 44 points for titles
  • 24 points to 28 points for other texts

The most important rule, however, is to use a few texts on every slide.

pptwork

I am a presentation design artist and had pleasure to work with DHL, PPH, Freelancer and Upwork for almost a decade.

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