Abstract
The present study, involving female university students, examined differences in their impression of captions written using different types of font and arrangements shown on a still screen of footage on the process of cooking Japanese food. The students were asked about differences in the readability of the caption and palatability of the food. The names of dishes and ingredients were written using five types of font and arranged around the screen. First, a total of 25 different screens were prepared. The students stated that the "readability" of captions written in a Gothic font was high, and those written in semi-cursive and block styles were "suitable for the food". They chose a block style as "the font most suitable" for the screen showing food. This means that the students placed more importance on whether the font style of a caption was suitable for the Japanese food than its readability. Following this, the students assessed 32 screens on which the names of dishes and ingredients written in a block style were arranged in different combinations. The screen showing a Japanese dish was "most appropriate" when the name of the dish was in the upper-left corner and the ingredients were in the lower-right. When reading a caption shown on the TV screen during a program, the viewer's gaze is considered to move from the upper-left corner to lower-right. There were no significant differences in the mean time needed to read the caption between the 32 screens.
