Sylexiad. A typeface for the adult dyslexic reader
About: This article is published in Journal of Writing in Creative Practice.The article was published on 2008-12-01. It has received 24 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Typeface.
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21 Oct 2013
TL;DR: This paper presents the first experiment that uses eye-tracking to measure the effect of font type on reading speed and presents a set of more accessible fonts for people with dyslexia.
Abstract: Around 10% of the people have dyslexia, a neurological disability that impairs a person's ability to read and write. There is evidence that the presentation of the text has a significant effect on a text's accessibility for people with dyslexia. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no experiments that objectively measure the impact of the font type on reading performance. In this paper, we present the first experiment that uses eye-tracking to measure the effect of font type on reading speed. Using a within-subject design, 48 subjects with dyslexia read 12 texts with 12 different fonts. Sans serif, monospaced and roman font styles significantly improved the reading performance over serif, proportional and italic fonts. On the basis of our results, we present a set of more accessible fonts for people with dyslexia.
138 citations
Cites background from "Sylexiad. A typeface for the adult ..."
...Most of the recommendations come from associations for people with dyslexia and they agree in using sans-serif fonts....
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13 May 2013
TL;DR: On the basis of the results, this work recommends using 18-point font size when designing web text for readers with dyslexia, which is the first work to cover a wide range of values and to study them in the context of an actual website.
Abstract: In 2012, Wikipedia was the sixth-most visited website on the Internet. Being one of the main repositories of knowledge, students from all over the world consult it. But, around 10% of these students have dyslexia, which impairs their access to text-based websites. How could Wikipedia be presented to be more readable for this target group? In an experiment with 28 participants with dyslexia, we compare reading speed, comprehension, and subjective readability for the font sizes 10, 12, 14, 18, 22, and 26 points, and line spacings 0.8, 1.0, 1.4, and 1.8. The results show that font size has a significant effect on the readability and the understandability of the text, while line spacing does not. On the basis of our results, we recommend using 18-point font size when designing web text for readers with dyslexia. Our results significantly differ from previous recommendations, presumably, because this is the first work to cover a wide range of values and to study them in the context of an actual website.
52 citations
Cites background from "Sylexiad. A typeface for the adult ..."
...3 Line Spacing and Dyslexia Another key factor of legibility for people with dyslexia is line spacing [17]....
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a selective review of recent design PhDs that identify and analyse the methodological innovation that is occurring in the field, in order to inform future provision of research training.
Abstract: This article presents a selective review of recent design PhDs that identify and analyse the methodological innovation that is occurring in the field, in order to inform future provision of research training. Six recently completed design PhDs are used to highlight possible philosophical and practical models that can be adopted by future PhD students in design. Four characteristics were found in design PhD methodology: innovations in the format and structure of the thesis, a pick-and-mix approach to research design, situating practice in the inquiry, and the validation of visual analysis. The article concludes by offering suggestions on how research training can be improved. By being aware of recent methodological innovations in the field, design educators will be better informed when developing resources for future design doctoral candidates and assisting supervision teams in developing a more informed and flexible approach to practice-based research.
39 citations
Additional excerpts
...While Hillier’s (2006) PhD uses typographic practice as part of the research process to identify, design, and test the readability and legibility issues of a new typeface....
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TL;DR: This article presents the first experiment that uses eye-tracking to measure the effect of typeface on reading speed and recommends a set of more accessible fonts for people with and without dyslexia.
Abstract: Around 10p of the people have dyslexia, a neurological disability that impairs a person’s ability to read and write. There is evidence that the presentation of the text has a significant effect on a text’s accessibility for people with dyslexia. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no experiments that objectively measure the impact of the typeface (font) on screen reading performance. In this article, we present the first experiment that uses eye-tracking to measure the effect of typeface on reading speed. Using a mixed between-within subject design, 97 subjects (48 with dyslexia) read 12 texts with 12 different fonts. Font types have an impact on readability for people with and without dyslexia. For the tested fonts, sans serif, monospaced, and roman font styles significantly improved the reading performance over serif, proportional, and italic fonts. On the basis of our results, we recommend a set of more accessible fonts for people with and without dyslexia.
32 citations
Cites background from "Sylexiad. A typeface for the adult ..."
...We found five fonts designed for people with dyslexia: Sylexiad [Hillier 2008], Dyslexie [De Leeuw 2010], Read Regular,4 Lexie Readable,5 and OpenDyslexic.6 The four fonts have in common that letters are more differentiated compared to regular fonts....
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TL;DR: The experiments clearly justify the conclusion that the Dyslexie font neither benefits nor impedes the reading process of children with and without dyslexia.
Abstract: In two experiments, the claim was tested that the font “Dyslexie”, specifically designed for people with dyslexia, eases reading performance of children with (and without) dyslexia. Three questions were investigated. (1) Does the Dyslexie font lead to faster and/or more accurate reading? (2) Do children have a preference for the Dyslexie font? And, (3) is font preference related to reading performance? In Experiment 1, children with dyslexia (n = 170) did not read text written in Dyslexie font faster or more accurately than in Arial font. The majority preferred reading in Arial and preference was not related to reading performance. In Experiment 2, children with (n = 102) and without dyslexia (n = 45) read word lists in three different font types (Dyslexie, Arial, Times New Roman). Words written in Dyslexie font were not read faster or more accurately. Moreover, participants showed a preference for the fonts Arial and Times New Roman rather than Dyslexie, and again, preference was not related to reading performance. These experiments clearly justify the conclusion that the Dyslexie font neither benefits nor impedes the reading process of children with and without dyslexia.
32 citations
Cites background from "Sylexiad. A typeface for the adult ..."
...A number of different fonts have been created specifically for readers with dyslexia, such as BOpenDyslexic^ (Gonzalez, 2015), BReadRegularTM^ (French, 2003), BSylexiad^ (Hillier, 2008), and the BDyslexie font^ © of Boer (2015)....
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References
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03 Nov 2017
TL;DR: The lack of a clear concept of developmental disorders has not helped the still faintly burning controversy as to whether developmental dyslexia exists, although there are other reasons for the controversy.
Abstract: The progress in understanding of acquired dyslexia was due not to such collections of empirical data, but rather to the fruitful application of detailed information-processing models to reading failure. The new definition of developmental dyslexia as developmental arrest has some important implications. The lack of a clear concept of developmental disorders has not helped the still faintly burning controversy as to whether developmental dyslexia exists, although there are other reasons for the controversy as well. These children were able to acquire a considerable sight-word vocabulary, but, when compared with normal children from the same school who had a similar sight vocabulary, showed a greatly impaired phonetic spelling strategy. Relevant to this question is the often-quoted absence of classic developmental dyslexia in Japan. The frequent failure to find evidence for a large variety of subtypes in developmental dyslexia cannot be ignored and constitutes a glaring difference to studies in acquired dyslexia.
1,430 citations
TL;DR: The object of this paper is to inquire into the time needed to bring about changes in the brain, and thus to determine the rapidity of thought, and to show that the times can in many cases be determined.
Abstract: Mental states correspond to physical changes in the brain. The object of this paper is to inquire into the time needed to bring about changes in the brain, and thus to determine the rapidity of thought. When waves in the luminiferous ether of a particular length strike the retina a red light is seen, but a certain time passes after the waves have struck the retina before the light is seen: (1) It takes time for the light waves to work on the retina, and generate in the cells a nervous impulse corresponding to the nature of the light; (2) it takes time for the nervous impulse to be conveyed along the optic nerve to the brain; (3) it takes time for the nervous impulse to be conveyed through the brain to the visual centre; and (4) it takes time for the nervous impulse to bring about changes in the visual centre corresponding to its own nature, and consequently to the nature of the external stimulus. When these changes are brought about a red light is seen. It does not take any time for a sensation or perception to arise after the proper changes in the brain have been brought about. The sensation of a red light is a state of consciousness corresponding to a certain condition of the brain. The chemical changes in a galvanic battery take time, but after they are brought about, no additional time is needed to produce the electric current. The current is the product of chemical changes in the battery, but at the same time the immediate representative of these changes; and the relation is so far analogous between states of consciousness and changes in the brain. Again, as it takes time to see a light, so it takes time to make a motion. Changes in the brain, the origin and nature of which we do not understand (physiologically they are part of the continuous life of the brain, mentally they are often given in continuous life of the brain, mentally they are often given in consciousness as a will-impulse), excite the centre for the coordination of motions. The impulse there developed is conveyed through the brain (and it may be spinal cord) to a motor nerve, and along the nerve to the muscle, which is contracted in accordance with the will-impulse. We have here in the reverse direction the same four periods as in the case of a stimulus giving rise to a sensation. In each case there is the latent period in the sense-organ or muscle, the centripetal or centrifugal time in the nerve, the centripetal or centrifugal time in the brain, and the time of growing energy in the sensory or motor centre. Besides these [p. 221] two classes of processes, the one centripetal, the other centrifugal, there are centrimanent cerebral operations, some of which are given in consciousness, and make up the mental life of thought and feeling. These cerebral changes all take time, and, as I shall show, the times can in many cases be determined.
250 citations
166 citations
TL;DR: A simple reading test that can be undertaken by disabled readers is described, revealing increases in the speed of reading when coloured overlays are used both in children who have made long-term use of coloured overlay for reading, and inChildren who will subsequently do so.
Abstract: A simple reading test that can be undertaken by disabled readers is described. The test is suitable for use in the optometric clinic, taking less than 2 minutes to administer per passage. Test-retest scores are acceptably reliable. The test reveals increases in the speed of reading when coloured overlays are used both (1) in children who have made long-term use of coloured overlays for reading, and (2) in children who will subsequently do so.
164 citations