So according to this recentely published study by Princeton and Indiana psychologists using larger font-sizes does not improve memory for the content being read but using unfamiliar styles does.

In a recent study published in the journal Cognition, psychologists at Princeton andIndiana University had 28 men and women read about three species of aliens, each of which had seven characteristics, like “has blue eyes,” and “eats flower petals and pollen.” Half the participants studied the text in 16-point Arial font, and the other half in 12-point Comic Sans MS or 12-point Bodoni MT, both of which are relatively unfamiliar and harder for the brain to process.

The design community has long considered Comic Sans some-what a joke of a font but maybe there is a purpose for it after all.

(via NY Times)