You should know there's a font designed to make reading easier, especially for people with low vision. It's called Atkinson Hyperlegible Next. It's free for personal and commercial use.
Note that there still have been no studies on its efficacy. At worst, it is a great font to avoid ambiguity between characters.
https://www.brailleinstitute.org/freefont/Open linkView original on lemmy.ml821
Comments92
This is nowhere near as good as the Open Dyslexic font. It looks weird, and I'm not dyslexic, but damn it makes me able to read so much faster!
https://opendyslexic.org/
I wish there was an open font that tries to do the same thing, but with an aesthetic that wasn't reminiscent of comic sans.
You're looking at it, the one linked In the op lmao
The Hyperlegible web site makes no mention of dyslexia, only visual impairment. Those are two totally different issues.
Well yes but beauty standards for typography run counter to accommodating for dyslexia, especially for sans serifs. Similarity in shapes, curves, weights, and stroke width are seen as beautiful, but they're exactly what must be given up for more accessible typography.
Someone else in the comments here did mention Bionic Reading though, and there's a free alternative in Fast Font, which has a gradient of weights for each word from black for the first letter to thin for the last one. Might be something to consider
I like how that font disambiguates glyphs that often get confused, but I found it to be pretty hard to look at, honestly. I think the main issue might be that the line thickness appears to be uniform at all parts in all letters.
See my reply to the other person for a couple of fonts to try :)
But comic sans is funny
You're right, I'm going to change all my fonts to comic sans (or whatever open-source variant might exist)...
I find it ironic that their website has extremely low contrasting colors making it very hard to read.
(Look at the top left for the worst example)
Yeah it's almost impossible to read
This looks like the font used on shroom tshirts
I actually changed my Anki to OpenDyslexic a couple of months ago! I changed it again when Atkinson Hyperlegible Next came out, but I agree that OpenDyslexic makes reading a breeze.
My only grievance with OpenDyslexic is that I don't think I could send reports with this font without pushback. On the other hand, I have sent multiple reports using Atkinson Hyperlegible and nobody has ever said a thing.
I find this harder to read than almost any other "normal" font. I wonder if I have some other reading impairment I've never been aware of - having recently discovered I'm also not neurotypical
To be honest, studies around whether this font is actually easier to read for people with dyslexia haven't shown that to be the case. At least, that's what I remember from reading about it in a Dutch skeptic magazine (Skepter) some time ago. So if you have dyslexia and find this font harder to read, that doesn't have to say anything about you.
EDIT: this seems to be the article I read, though it's from ten years ago.
As a dyslexic its very hard to read. But dyslexia isn't one thing. Its a broad catch all category diagnosis. So im sure it does help some. But damn its also ugly...
I wonder how it works. Maybe it has to do with the intentional varying of the sizes of holes in letters, and the lopsided lines so one can't be confused as another.
While dyslexia is actually a cluster of related issues, a common one seems to be with dimensionality. Basically, the reader's brain assumes the objects are 3 dimensional. When the eyes make micro adjustments, the letters don't rotate, since they are 2D. The brain misinterprets this as them rotating, or moving. This is perceived as them flickering or moving, in the corner of your eye.
There are several ways to break this effect. I suspect the shape is intended to mess with and slightly overload the depth sense. Strong colours can also disrupt it. E.g. via a coloured filter or glasses.
Just to note, my knowledge/research on this was 20 years ago, so might be outdated now. The coloured filters (actually tinted reading glasses) did help a relative overcome dyslexia however.
I wish this font worked for me. I think my brain is defective.
You can also download it at Github without giving up your email address or agreeing to some dumb TOS.
https://github.com/googlefonts/atkinson-hyperlegible
Thanks, it's a nice font for reading ebooks on my iPhone
Coolness! I like the bionic font, but it’s more “just for me” than anything. This looks like a great default.
https://www.brailleinstitute.org/freefont/
Wrong link?
Well i was just mentioning bionic, but the link goes to the OP’s subject
When I read your comment, the post already had a link. I guess they added after reading your comment.
I dont get how thst don't works. Surly it can't know the word in advance and auto bold the first three letters?
I tried to get it working on Kobo and it dosnt seem to. Perhaps it was me though.
Could be very advanced use of ligatures
The bionic font? Good point, I don't know how it “knows.”
I have been using this font as the default font on my personal laptop and I am more than happy with the way it looks and reads.
A couple of years ago I tried using the original Atkinson Hyperlegible (the one published a couple of years ago, before "Next") on GNOME and my settings didn't quite work. I had scaling at around 100% and increased the font size a little bit because I was having a hard time reading the font (the irony!). You inspired me to try again, but now with Atkinson Hyperlegible Next!
Its beyond free for use, its OFL.
Only Fans Literature?
Open font license
Ordinarily Frisky Lingo
Orange froot loop
I think this actually has a negative effect for me. It's like every character is now screaming for my attention, and my brain can't read whole words and phrases. I have to process the letters first. Though it's possible this could be more to do with the website's rendering on mobile and default font size.
It doesn't work for me either. Just reading the text on the page linked here was uncomfortable. It's not like you describe though - for me it's like there's too much white space and there's this mass of words almost floating around the page and it's hard to keep track of where I'm up to. I am a bad/slow reader and all reading is like that for me - that font just seems to make it worse.
I think this font is meant for people with bad eyesight. The website doesn’t make any claims about trouble reading for other reasons.
I’ve always read very fast with no problems but now I’m old and can’t see small print as easily. This font actually was much more comfortable for me to read without my glasses, which I guess is nice for me but no use at all for you.
How do you feel about comic sans and the open dyslexia font some other comments on this page are talking about with positive and negative comments? Do those make any difference at all to you?
For me comic sands is 100% easy to read. Only has negative connotation from personal experience and the meme of it.
For me it was the default font size. Way to big on that page. Again, not target audience.
That's interesting. I'd love to know if you have the same experience on a desktop and with different font sizes.
It's fine for me on mobile, and I'm glad that the "I" has horizontal lines. So many scammers adopt fake usernames by using an "I" (capital "i") instead of an "l" (lowercase "L") and vice versa.
It's just the font size. I have to zoom out to 50% then it's pretty comfortable. But also I'm not the target audience and if my eyesight goes later on in life I'll probably benefit. I'm glad sites are considering things like this for accessibility.
Do you struggle with monospace fonts too?
Not at all.
I see a lot of people discussing this font and mentioning OpenDyslexia.
I couldn't find research on Atkinson Hyperlegible. It says it was recently this year, I also couldn't find any research on effectuveness when I looked through the website. If I missed it I aplogize and would love to learn more if someone wants to take the time to link/copy the applicable info. My hope is since it's a non-profit group focusing on helping those with vision problems it has been well developed tested for effectiveness. Certainly if someone wants to try for themselves please do. Before going all out though say converting large volumes of things or implementing for a classroom I think asking questions would be prudent.
Unfortunately OpenDyslexia does not actually help those with this learn disability! The authors of the below article do a good job of discussing why and the harm misconception/misuse of products like these can create.
Wery JJ, Diliberto JA. The effect of a specialized dyslexia font, OpenDyslexic, on reading rate and accuracy. Ann Dyslexia. 2017 Jul;67(2):114-127. doi: 10.1007/s11881-016-0127-1. Epub 2016 Mar 18. PMID: 26993270; PMCID: PMC5629233. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5629233/
Here is some more info and strategies for those instered in regards to dyslexia. https://childmind.org/article/understanding-dyslexia/
Thank you so much for taking the time to research and share you findings.
As to Atkinson Hyperlegible, I suppose its merit could be, at most, making it harder to confuse characters such as B8, O0, or 1Iil.
Beyond these benefits (and as you mentioned), there is just not enough information on whether Atkinson Hyperlegible definitely helps or not.
Also, thanks for the link on dyslexia. I suppose that, to an extent, promoting fonts like Open Dyslexia could lead to the unintended consequences described in the article.
Damn, I was hoping the research would pan out here. I have problems reading longer chunks of text but OpenDyslexia has helped me with that. I read exclusively on my Kobo (which has it included as a font by default) because of it.
It would be great if it did show improvement when evaluated in research. The clinical evidence just isn't there though.
There is nothing stopping someone from enjoying it out of pure personal preference though.
can't wait for this to be in distros by default.
It's also aesthetically pleasant which is a big plus.
I have been using this font on my eBook Reader for years. It's great. Highly recommended - it might look a little bit goofy at the first glance, but it really is more readable.
Just installed it on my kobo and it’s fantastic.
I really like the Roboto Mono Nerd Font
I just added this to my eReader. I’ve been reading a lot lately and while I haven’t had any difficulty, I’m eager to see if it enhances comprehension.
Good post OP.
I'm glad you found it useful.
If you're experimenting with fonts to see how they change comprehension, you could try Open Dyslexic too! It looks quite ugly, but it makes reading easier to me and another commenter on this thread. I suppose it's a matter of testing what works best for you.
Thank you for that suggest. I had taken a peek at it a while ago and it’s too “wobbly” for me.
That’s quite a nice typeface. I find myself torn between serif vs sans; when reading a book it’s so ingrained to expect serif (I switched from Bookerly) that my eyes stuttered a bit when I started Atkinson’s.
As long as I can get the OTF or TTF files, I’ll try em all. You have any more?
The original Atkinson Hyperlegible (without Next) is available by default on some Kobo e-readers. I use it for a few months now and I find that indeed it helps reading at night (or without my glasses because it's nice to remove them from time to time).
I have good vision but I actually really like this font since i have a smaller phone screen! Anyone know how to install it on an Android phone?
It's been a long time since I tried, but I tried to install Atkinson Hyperlegible on my android and it wasn't possible without rooting the phone. Your manufacturer may have a way to add fonts, but for Samsung I was limited to downloading them through their Galaxy store, which had no fonts I wanted
As someone that has pretty decent vision, I enjoyed reading this font very much. Imma have to download it just because it's pleasant to read.
This is probably a stupid question. If it is free for personal and all commercial use... which case isn't covered by that? Could just say it is free to use.
OP just tries to be as clear and transparent as possible, because there are times when someone says something is "free to use" but then in the "fine print" they hide limitations.
It's actually on their page, so I didn't try to call out OP on that (and not saying you implied that, just to be sure) but am actually curious if that means something specific.
IIRC, it uses a free (libre) font license. So you’re free to do pet much anything. Changing the font might have some restrictions.
Yeah, it's the SIL Open Font License. The text can be found behind their "End-User License Agreement" link.
I also think it’s a good looking font.
This seems to indicate it's best for those with 'low vision' which almost implies there's a more 'hyperlegible' font that's better for those with standard/regular vision. Is this the case or should it be argued that this font is most legible for all and thusly also best for those with low vision? Just curious--would like to know what best runner-ups would be suggested too
I'm also curious how they went about creating this font. Any resources on how they go about proving/creating it's 'hyperlegibility'?
The website lists some features that enhance legibility. Some are common sense (ex. 1, l and I all look different), some are less obvious:
Unambiguous Letterforms
Clear Uprights
Distinct Pairs
Open Counters
Spurs and Tails
Special Circles (although this one could be just branding)
This is largely a layperson's opinion, but I don't think there would be much of a difference. The thing is that perfect vision rarely happens, not just because of bad eyes, but because sunlight might be hitting your screen or you're reading at a weird angle or contrast is bad etc..
And even if the pixels were beamed straight to your retina, your brain is still a pattern matching machine. If it's easier to discern individual letters, it becomes quicker to select each word correctly.
Having said that, if there were a font that's objectively the most readable, we probably wouldn't have a gazillion different fonts. Some folks here have said that they find this font distracting, for example. So, yeah, you kind of have to decide on your own, what works best for you.
Can I change fonts on my iphone, can I change it to this? I have a disability that impacts my vision and currently I’ve been relying on making text massive but this could be a better solution it sounds like.
I don’t think so. At least I couldn’t find anything on my settings app.
No. Very irritatingly, iOS won’t let you install fonts normally.
In order for you to install a font, someone else needs to make an app for that font, and once you download and run the app that installs the font, that font becomes available anywhere.
This seems profoundly stupid to me and I do not get it.
There actually is an app for the older font, which you can find if you search the App Store for “hyperlegible”, where some guy is charging $2 to package up this free font for you.
Thanks, Apple. As usual you’ve done a great job ensuring that nobody gives away anything for free on iPhones
No, can’t blame the app dev at all but we can blame Apple for making open source and other free software so difficult on their phones
Would I be able to add this to my Kobo e-reader?
I wear glasses - but read in bed without them. I have a larger font size set - but thus looks like a clearer font too
So, legacy one (without next) is already available on a lot of kobo e-reader. But you should be able to install any TTF font on kobo: https://help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/articles/13009477876631-Load-fonts-onto-your-Kobo-eReader
Awesome - thank you
I tried to put this on my Kobo, but it just crashed it every time.
I use this font for any document I type up, if it's to be consumed by anyone else but myself.
At the top of the page, I can feel there's something different. It really felt weird to read.
But the more I read and scroll it somehow gets easier? Something like that.
But most of all I appreciate that there's differentiation for all the potentially confusing situations that can and has been used for scams.
Time to try it more widely I suppose.
There is also font designed for faster reading. https://github.com/Born2Root/Fast-Font
LaTeX packages are available, too:
I switched my browser over to it to see how I like it. So far, so good.
It feels like Arial but with serifs.
I used it for a bit on my e-reader but decided to switch away from it. It's quite good either way.
Been switching between Literata and Vollkorn on my ereader. It's super subjective in the end
Oh hell yeah I use Atkinson Hyperlegible everywhere. There is also Atkinson Monolegible for a monospaced font so you arent stuck using Consolas
Looks normal to me
Thanks for sharing!