on the typography of search engines

American Search Engines

Ask

The Ask engine provides the reader with an easy-to-follow array of links that, at first, may appear cluttered but are structured in such a way as to not tire the reader's sight.

Bing

The Bing engine's spacing between the lines makes for a practical and traditional arrangement of sentences that are not tiring to the reader's eyes. However, the "Related Searches" sidebar gives a feeling of running out of space.

Cuil

Although Cuil's font-size is significantly smaller than what other engines traditionally use, it is not visually-taxing on the reader because the space in between each line is kept quite large.

DuckDuckGo

DDG utilizes a font that is easy to read; however, its excessive spacing between each line makes connection between similar themes difficult to follow. In addition, DDG's layout of searches in related topics makes it harder for the reader to find what he or she is looking for.

Google

Google uses a similar approach as Bing in its layout of topics. Google's sidebar is superior to Bing's in that it does not clutter or interfere with the main search results. The font-family and the line spacing are apt.

Kosmix

Kosmix creates a balance between design and content by bolding specific parts of the text that allow you to know more about a particular topic. However, its content is in need of some more form and design as it is perhaps too simple in these regards.

Yahoo

Yahoo follows the same layout as Bing and Google by allowing the "Related Searches" sidebar on the left side. It does not interfere with the apt font and spacing in between the lines of the search results. However, the advertisements so close to the results give an atmosphere of being cluttered.

Yebol

Yebol is innovative in its design and layout of its search results but does not allow for quick access to links. It's font-family is very round and "playful" which is conducive to easy navigation on a website.