A client recently asked what formatting style they should use for emphasis in their email alerts and newsletters. Among other text, the question concerned how to format case names (e.g., ABC Company, Inc. v. XYZ Company, Inc.).
From a usability standpoint, the answer is that one should never using underlining in an email except to indicate a hyperlink. As usability guru Jakob Nielsen has advised:
"Don't underline any text that's not a link, even if your links aren't underlined. Reserve underlining for links. Because underlines provide a strong [signal] of clickability, users will be confused and disappointed if underlined text doesn't . . . match this perception." (see the third bullet at the hyperlink above).
In sum, for emphasis (or case names) use italics, not underlines.
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