Background: To identify the most relevant aspects that guarantee the readability, clarity and simplicity of written health education materials.
Material and methods: Delphi methodology in order to reach a state of consensus among health education experts on criteria of legibility in the design and publication of informative material and literature.
Results: Seventeen experts reached agreement on the principal recommendations for ensuring the legibility of health education materials. They were as follows: a) text content and layout: to structure the text using a title or subtitle, message explanation and conclusion; b) text construction: to use simple and concise sentences, diagrams and examples, and graphically highlighting the principal ideas; c) lexical comprehension: to use simple words and avoid technical language and abbreviations; d) typography: to use an easy-to-read font.
Conclusions: There is a high degree of consensus regarding the way health education materials should be drawn up. This list of recommendations could be used as an instrument for reviewing and improving the design of health education materials. In general, it is recommended to identify the users of the leaflets and involve them in the writing and design.