developing a typeface for people with dyslexia - Designing With

Read:developing a typeface for people with dyslexia

Helen Hamlyn Research Associate: Natascha Frensch: RCA Communication, Art & Design

Research Partner: Audi Design FoundationOctober 2002 – 2003

i~design case studiesThis is one of a series of inclusive design case

studies published as part of the i~design research

programme. These case studies document inclusive

design collaborations between the Helen Hamlyn

Centre (HHC) and industry and voluntary sector

partners, under the Helen Hamlyn Research

Associates programme. They also document the

results of the DBA ‘Inclusive Design Challenge’, a

design competition co-ordinated by the Helen

Hamlyn Centre and the Design Business

Association (DBA).

i~design is a multi-centre collaborative research

programme funded by the Engineering and Physical

Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The purpose

is to foster the adoption of inclusive design by

business decision makers and professional designers,

in particular by presenting the business case,

developing tools and techniques, and building

a network of researchers around the projects.

i~design partners• The Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Centre,

is a centre for inclusive design, with extensive

contacts in industry and the design professions.

• The Engineering Design Centre at the University

of Cambridge has a strong reputation in

the improvement of design process and

development of design methodologies

to address specific issues.

• Applied Computing at the University of Dundee

develops information technology systems to

support older and disabled people.

• The HCI Group at the University of York has

a long history of inter-disciplinary research

in the area of user centred design arising from

collaboration between the departments of

Psychology and Computer Science.

• The Design Council inspires and enables the

basic use of design by business, education

and government to improve prosperity and

well-being.

�© helen hamlyn centre 2003

AbstractThis study, supported by the Audi Design Foundation, formed the final year of a three-year

investigation into the relationship between dyslexia and typography. Frensch, who is herself

dyslexic, began it while studying for her MA in Communication Art and Design at the Royal

College of Art (RCA). There are two million severely dyslexic individuals in Britain. Much

has been done in the field of computer software, particularly for children, but relatively

little design research has been carried out in the area of type design. Frensch began by

experimenting with hand-drawn letterforms that were independent in character and could

be easily distinguished from each other by dyslexics. The project developed through a

programme of user research from which a new typeface emerged. This was then exhaustively

tested, amended and improved, leading to the introduction of ‘Read’, a family of three new

typefaces. This case study demonstrates how significant improvements in ease of reading

for dyslexics can result from relatively straightforward but carefully- researched typeface

enhancements. An accompanying limited edition book has been produced in English and

Dutch and a website (www.readregular.com) introduced to promote the typeface and explain

its development.

Keywords Dyslexia, typography, typefaces, reading difficulties, inclusive design.

Project periodOctober 2002 – October 2003

Read:developing a typeface for people with dyslexia

Overview Of the two million severely dyslexic [1] people in

Britain, some 375,000 are schoolchildren who

struggle with reading and writing. Similar patterns

of occurrence can be seen in Europe and North America.

Despite normal intellectual ability and largely

sympathetic teaching, the incidence is independent of

socio-economic or language background. Much help is

now available for dyslexics through the development

of software, talking books and encyclopaedias. The

study set out to discover whether these difficulties

might be combated by something as simple and

straightforward as improved typography and type

design. Frensch had already developed what was

thought to be a suitable typeface during her MA. The

initial objective of this study was to take her existing

typeface and develop a range of weights. Her

MA dissertation had played a major role in determining

the core message of her project whose major concerns

and qualities were characterised as follows:

• Individual

• Personal

• Determined

• Variety

• Difference

• Gaining confidence

• Saving preferences

Frensch’s personal experience of dyslexia helped

her to form an appreciation of the impact of the

condition on individuals and the efforts they made

to disguise and overcome their particular difficulties.

This set out the context for the project. Fairly early in

© helen hamlyn centre 2003�

Read | Natascha Frensch

the study, however, she began to realise the potential

significance of the benefits that could be gained by

developing a better understanding and appreciation

of the relationship between dyslexia and typography.

An outline research and development programme was

then devised which would allow her meaningfully to

explore these issues.

As is customary in the HHRC Research Associates

Programme, the one-year project was divided into

four stages:

Stage �: Explore (October – December)

Stage �: Focus (January – March)

Stage 3: Develop (April – June)

Stage 4: Deliver (July – September)

MethodsThe ‘explore’ stage began by researching dyslexia in

greater detail [2] and in particular the major reasons

why reading and writing difficulties occur. Dyslexia

causes difficulty with the left side of the brain, the

area that is responsible for language processing. The

cerebellum is the small brain part, which is thought to

provide ‘automatic reading’ or language dexterity for

non-dyslexics. For dyslexics the cerebellum experiences

difficulty in functioning smoothly and this translates

into delays and uncertainties, which can interrupt the

visual demand of reading [3]. There may therefore

be a problem of translating the shapes of characters

and assembling the sound into a word, all of which

can lead to the necessity to re-read any given word or

passage. This delays and interferes with the normal

reading process. Similar problems manifest themselves

during writing, but the process is reversed and these

specialised difficulties did not need to be taken into

account in this study. Dyslexic children have trouble

learning the shapes of individual characters when

they are learning how to read, especially with charac-

ters that look similar [4].

A network of some 100 dyslexic contacts, who

would take part in the proposed user research was

then set up in conjunction with RCA Dyslexia Coor-

dinator, Qona Rankin. Frensch’s dyslexia gave her a

head start in comparing and evaluating alternative

proposals and design solutions. The user groups were

divided into order by age: young children who were

just getting familiar with reading and writing; older

schoolchildren, and adults aged between 18 and 70.

Students and adults were grouped together as the

process of learning and understanding is by then

largely complete. Thus the first and second age groups

lay quite close together in age. Much of the research

work centred on a comparison of various formats of

the ‘Read’ typeface with other typefaces (Figure 2)

having broadly similar characteristics. The user tests

were made up of a mixture of one-to-one interviews,

questionnaires and handouts. Six typographers and

type designers were consulted including two Dutch

experts - Robin Kinross, Miles Newlyn, Rosemary Sas-

soonm Adrian Williams, Gerard Under and Just van

Rossum. These consultations took place in November/

December 2002, February 2003 and July/August 2003,

and specialist conferences were attended including a

3-day ‘Typo Berlin’ conference in Berlin [6]

Figure 2. Comparison with other typefaces

Figure 1. Read Space

3© helen hamlyn centre 2003


Figure 3. Pages from Read Regular

4

Results and Design OutcomesDuring all stages of the project it became clear that

no two dyslexics came up with the same answers. This

made testing more difficult than anticipated. However

it was possible to categorise their responses, which

could then be fed into the design process. Individual

comments were still taken into consideration to see if

there could be a general way of incorporating those

suggestions. It was found that the older age group

were more open and responsive to the user test work

and had more specific reasons for liking or disliking

particular proposals. In general, dyslexics can be said

to have a pronounced ability to make decisions and

therefore held strong preferential opinions. Some

typefaces were found to be more difficult than others

for dyslexics, with variations in form, complexity and

distinctness having negative effects (eg. Rockwell,

Ariel Black and Courier). This was unsurprising as

it had been established that dyslexics spend two

to three times as much time taking in, acquiring,

processing, storing and reproducing information.

Research revealed the effect of the rest of the

word on the nature of the first letter for a dyslexic.

‘Normal’ readers are able automatically to read

ahead a few words without being aware of this

which speeds up the reading process. Dyslexics can

experience difficulty with peripheral vision in this

context, which causes distortion leading to fatigue,

headaches and eyestrain. These factors led to the

design principle of creating an individual approach

for each of the characters, thereby questioning the

traditional typeface design philosophy of searching

for consistency and an overall look while integrating

differences purely for reasons of style.

The outcome of her research led Frensch to question

these contemporary boundaries of difference and

consistency in the context of finding overall optical

pleasure. This led her to depart from some of the

more traditional letter forms such as the normal ‘a’

which is seen as ‘two storey’ (rather like a number

8) and therefore disruptive, and ‘g’ which dyslexics

sometimes see as ‘two-eyed’ (spectacles turned

through 90°).

© helen hamlyn centre 2002


Figure 4. Double page spread from Read Regular

�© helen hamlyn centre 2003


AssessmentFairly early in the study, Frensch began to realise how

a typeface designed by a dyslexic for other dyslexics

could assist them and increase their motivation to

read. A decision was made to concentrate on a ‘sans

serif’ format to ensure the objective of reducing form

and detail, with the inner forms of the letters kept

large and open to prevent them from ‘bleeding’ out

to become a closed rather than an open form. The use

of serifs also tended to interfere with optimised letter

spacing. The issue of problems relating to reversing

and inverting similar letterforms was resolved as

can be seen in Figure 4. Great emphasis was placed

on the importance of not mirroring characters and

not producing mirrored and inverted versions of the

same letterform (rotated around a diagonal axis). A

further objective was therefore to create maximum

differential between those individual characters that

can create confusion, such as ‘b-d-p-q’, ‘f-t’ and ‘m-

n-r’. It was important to be able to produce a well-

resolved typeface together with the tools to promote

that result.

DiscussionThe user research outputs confirmed that ascenders

(the upward strokes in letters such as ‘d’) and

descenders (downwards strokes in letters such as

‘p’) should ideally be long to ensure their legibility.

This, together with other factors, led Frensch to

optimise respective character weighting as one of the

key drivers of the project, with the weight of each

character being carefully balanced to decrease the

competition for the reader’s attention between the

letterforms and the background (Figure 6). It was

found that many of the issues relating to characters

also applied to numerals, which were incorporated

using similar criteria (Figure 7).

Character spacing was increased slightly to

support the reader during their attempt to build

up the necessary word images, and verified by means

of further user testing. It was found that the standard

answer to problems experienced by dyslexics of simply

enlarging type sizes did not adequately address the

issue, in fact it tended to emphasise the problem

with dyslexics. Needing to be able to recognise

individual letter images rather than the shape of the

completed word form, particularly when the spelling

is not phonetic (eg. ‘Peugeot’), can and often does

lead to guesswork. Other recommendations

regarding issues such as paper colour, finish, line

length, justification and alignment are summarised

in Table 1.

Figure 4. Comparison of similar letterforms Figure 5. Similar letterforms are differentiated


Figure 6. The weight of each letter is carefully balanced


Figure 7. Numbers and characters

Figure 8. Read Smallcaps, Read Regular, Read Space and examples of different sizes and tones



Table1. Recommendations for ease of reading by dyslexics

Attribute

Fonts

Size

Leading

Numbers

Contrast

Layout

Reccomendation

Alternatives to the ‘Read regular’ family, ie Read regular, Read Smallcaps and Read

Space are acceptable providing they adhere to similar design guidelines. Copying or

mirroring shapes should be avoided to avoid the ‘swirl-effect’ (Figure 10). Avoid the

over-stylised. Italics and underlining are less recognisable. The use of capitals for large

amounts of text is not recommended

The printing in the ‘Read regular’ publication uses 9pt set on 13.5pt leading and

12pt set on 17pt leadingt

+ 4pt on the typesize gives enough space. For Microsoft systems 1.5 or double spacing

gives sufficient but not too much free space

Distinctive numbers are essential to avoid confusion which can occur with 3-5-8

and 6-9 series

This needs to be considered to ensure the right balance between the type, weight and

background to avoid the wash-out effect. Off-white and non-shiny paper colour and

finishes [5] are preferred (Figure 11)

An ideal maximum line length is 10 words. Sentences should not be too short other

than in the case of narrow columns. Left alignment is preferred or central for headings,

but not right aligned. Justified text interrupts word spacing and creates

non-consistency and ‘river-effect’ distortion. Hyphenation should also be avoided as

it creates difficulties in comprehension (Figure 12)

Figure 9. Text examples

Figure12. River-effect

Figure 11. Wash-out effect

Figure 10. Swirl-effect

�


Conclusions and future workThe main conclusions are as follows:

• A better awareness of the relationship between

typography and dyslexia needs to be encouraged;

• A fresh approach to typography in a form that

tends to include its easy assimilation by dyslexics

can extend the scope and coverage of the printed

matter. Dyslexia runs in families and many readers

can be dyslexic without knowing it. Thus all those

involved in the creation and reproduction of

typefaces should take these factors into account;

‘Read regular’ is therefore an inclusive typeface

which provides a better reading experience for all

• The important guidelines to emerge from the

study covered type size, line spacing, use of capitals,

paper colour and finish, alignment, justification and

hyphenation. They are addressed in the associated

publication ‘Read regular’ which should form an

important reference base for typographers. Their

use and adoption should be encouraged wherever

possible.

Frensch has created her own ‘Read’ website (www.

readregular.com) to accompany her publication

to promote the typeface to a wider educational

audience. She has also come to an agreement with

a number of publishing houses, who wish to use her

typeface in the production of a series of childrens’

books one of which has already been published: My

Friend has Dyslexia, published by Chrysalis books,

2004.

Bibliography[1] “Dys” (Greek) ‘Difficulty with’.

Lexis ‘Language’, ‘Speech’.

[2] Leij, van der, Prof SA, University of Amsterdam

“Dyslexia is defined as dysfunctioning that is

identified by serious problems in automating

word identification (reading) and/or written image

building (spelling)”, Dutch television documentary

[3] Miles, T.R, 1986, Understanding Dyslexia (paper-

back)

[4] Hofmeester, N, 2002, Studeren met dyslexie, Ant-

werpen-Apeldoorn

[5] Irlen, H, 1991, Reading by the colors (paperback),

pub. Penguin Group, New York

[6] www.typo-berlin.de

© helen hamlyn centre 2003

About the research partners Audi Design Foundation: launched in August 1997,

the aim of the Audi Design Foundation is to help

young people with innovative ideas realise their

inventions. The Audi Design Foundation has awarded

more than 100 grants totalling over £50,000. An Audi

Design Foundation grant can be for as little as £500

to over £20,000.

www.audifoundation.org

About the Research AssociateDutch. MA(RCA) Communication,

Art & Design 2002; BA Willem de

Kooning Academy, Graphic Design,

Rotterdam 2000. Work experi-

ence: Venture 3; RCA; Westminis-

ter University; Ecoscoop, Tom v/d

Haspel, Rotterdam; Via Vermeulen,

Rotterdam; Platvorm, architecture

magazine / collaboration, Rotterdam. Awards: Winner,

Best Verzorgde Boeken, Why Me Lord (Via Vermeulen,

2000); 2002 Winner, Deutsche Bank, Pyramid Award

for Design; 2002 Winner, Design for our Future Selves

competition.

Contact: [email protected]

The Helen Hamlyn Centre was set up at the Royal

College of Art in January 1999 to alert design and

business to the far-reaching implications of a

rapidly changing society. It works to advance a socially

inclusive approach to design through practical research

and projects with industry. Its Research Associates

Programme teams new RCA graduates with industry

partners.

www.hhc.rca.ac.uk

The Helen Hamlyn Centre

Royal College of ArtKensington Gore London SW7 2EU

T +44 (0)20 7590 4242 F +44 (0)20 7590 4244

[email protected]

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