Posted by Marc | 22-06-2011 22:16 | Category:
Design
I worked with many designers and desktop publishers and it is remarkable how many of them are dyslexic.
Dyslectics have trouble with reading and not every dyslectic likes to read.
Christian Boer of Studiostudio made a typeface especially for dyslectics. It is called Dyslexie.
The problem is that people with dyslexia see letters as 3D figures. And most of them are quite similar when rotating or reflecting.
Christiaan Boer modified the characters which he visualized in the video above.
Renske de Leeuw from the University of Twente did research on the typeface:
The conclusion of the study was that reading with the font “Dyslexie” doesn’t lead to an increase in reading speed. There was however a decrease in the reading errors when dyslectics read words that where printed in the font “Dyslexie”. This is an indication that reading with the font “Dyslexie” decreases the reading errors.
Students read the reading tests EMT and Klepel twice. Once printed in the font Arial and once in the font “Dyslexie”. The order was randomly assigned and in-between the reading tests an auditory task was fulfilled.
The Typeface is for sale. More about the project: Project dyslexie (in Dutch).
I don’t have dyslexia and I definitely was able to read faster. I read plenty and could differentiate, going back and forth from normal to dyslexie text.
Maybe this font doesn’t just address the issues people with dyslexia have, but eases and speeds up reading for everyone. Someone should develop a browser extension for this… chrome plz
Posted by Dan | 26-08-2011 03:58
Really interesting and I could probably use this font on websites for some of my nonprofit clients. Would work well combined with a font switcher link, so that the text and background colours could be changed to a more dyslexia friendly combination.
Unfortunately I don’t think it’s available as a web font.
Posted by Jason King | 27-10-2011 13:51
How can i get this font for my MAC
I have terrible problems due to my dyslexia and Irelene Syndrome.
Anything that can help me it going to change my quality of life for the better.
Regards,
Martin
Posted by Martin Kearns | 21-12-2011 04:08
Brilliant. This works not just for Dyslexia but for skim reading too. Far fewer errors in skimming the example text even with watching the video small. I am a fast but error prone reader (through, though, thought etc. all mixed up). I wish you all the best with this font and hope the whole world hears about it. Just wish it could do something for my spelling, thank god for spell check!
Posted by Zach Brown | 2-02-2012 01:34
OUf, the design is brilliant. It improves reading.
Why wasn’t this thought up earlier in the centuries?
It should have been available for free though. Wasn’t it a university project?
The scientific basis is minimal, though. But it works for me.
On webpages about Dyslexia problems from a few years iago (2008/2009)
i see advise ‘Do not use all capitals’.
But SMALL CAPITALS on the contrary, seem very clear to me!
P.S. I hate Fraktur - the most bizarre typeface ever!
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