OpenDyslexic
OpenDyslexic3Regular-image.svg
CategorySans-serif
Designer(s)Abelardo González[1]
Date released2011[1]
LicenseSIL Open Font License v1.1[2]
OpenDyslexic sample text
Sample
Shown hereOpenDyslexic 3 Regular
Websiteopendyslexic.org
An example of OpenDyslexic typeface
An example of OpenDyslexic typeface

OpenDyslexic is a free typeface/font designed to mitigate some of the common reading errors caused by dyslexia. The typeface was created by Abelardo González, who released it through an open-source license.[3][4] The design is based on DejaVu Sans, also an open-source font.[citation needed]

Like many dyslexia-intervention typefaces, most notably Dyslexie, OpenDyslexic adds to dyslexia research and is a reading aid. It is not a cure for dyslexia.[5] The typeface includes regular, bold, italic, bold-italic, and monospaced font styles. The benefit has been questioned in scientific studies.[6]

In 2012, González explained his motivation to the BBC: "I had seen similar fonts, but at the time they were completely unaffordable and so impractical as far as costs go."[1]

Integration

The typeface is currently an optional choice on many websites and formats, including Wikipedia,[7] Instapaper,[1] Kobo eReader,[8] Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, a few children's books,[9][10] and at least one imprint of classic literature.[11]

There is also a Google Chrome extension available,[12][13][4] which was developed by Abelardo González and Robert James Gabriel.[4][14] It is also part of the "dyslexia-friendly mode" in Oswald Foundation's web accessibility products.[15]

Scientific studies

Two small studies have investigated the effect of specialized fonts used with students with dyslexia. Rello and Baeza-Yates (2013) measured eye-tracking recordings of Spanish readers (aged 11–50) with dyslexia and found that OpenDyslexic did not significantly improve reading time nor shorten eye fixation.[16] In her master's thesis, Leeuw (2010) compared Arial and Dyslexie with 21 Dutch students with dyslexia and found OpenDyslexic did not lead to faster reading, but may help with some dyslexic-related errors.[17] The British Dyslexia Association recommend “plain, evenly spaced sans serif font such as Arial and Comic Sans. Alternatives include Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic, Trebuchet”.[18]

Related typefaces

There are other typefaces and fonts that have been linked to benefits for people with dyslexia including: BBC Reith, Comic Sans, Dyslexie, FS Me, Sassoon and Sylexiad.[19][20][21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Kelion, Leo (2012-09-26). "OpenDyslexic font gains ground with help of Instapaper". BBC News. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  2. ^ "License". OpenDyslexic. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  3. ^ Jason, Mick. "First Free Digital Font Optimized for Dyslexics although the requirements are for a mixture of Dyslexia which is a phonic cognitive condition and Irlen Syndrome which is a visual cognitive condition the traits of which can often be experienced by dyslexics Arrives". DailyTech.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "OpenDyslexic font makes it easy to read anywhere". Geek.com. 2012-10-02. Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  5. ^ Ross, Selena (17 October 2012). "New Font Helps Dyslexics Read Clearly". Associated Students, UC Santa Barbara. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  6. ^ Wery, Jessica J.; Diliberto, Jennifer A. (18 March 2016), "The effect of a specialized dyslexia font, OpenDyslexic, on reading rate and accuracy", Annals of Dyslexia, Springer US, 67 (2): 114–127, doi:10.1007/s11881-016-0127-1, PMC 5629233, PMID 26993270
  7. ^ Bhattacharjee, Runa (July 2013). "Universal Language Selector (ULS) deployed on more than 150 wikis". Wikimedia. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  8. ^ González, Abelardo. "Kobo Mini, Glo, Aura HD". OpenDyslexic. Archived from the original on March 17, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  9. ^ González, Abelardo. "Zack & Zoey's Alien Apocalypse: Alien Busting Ninja Adventure". OpenDyslexic. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  10. ^ González, Abelardo. "The Swamp Man, by Shoo Rayner". OpenDyslexic. Archived from the original on September 6, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  11. ^ "Strawberry Classics". folktal.es. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  12. ^ "OpenDyslexic". chrome.google.com. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  13. ^ "Which Font is Best For Dyslexic Users? The Science Reviewed". S-E-O.org. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  14. ^ "antijingoist/opendyslexic-chrome". GitHub. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  15. ^ "Valmiki - Oswald Foundation". Oswald Foundation. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
  16. ^ Rello, L.; Baeza-Yates, R. (2013). "Good fonts for dyslexia". Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility. ACM. p. 14.
  17. ^ Leeuw, Renske de (December 2010). Special font for dyslexia? (MA thesis). University of Twente.
  18. ^ British Dyslexia Association. "Dyslexia Style Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-04. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  19. ^ Gray, Richard. "The typeface that helps dyslexics". bbc.com/. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  20. ^ Dawood, Sarah (May 22, 2018). "Designing for dyslexia: a style guide to make reading easy for everyone". Design Week. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  21. ^ British Dyslexia Association (August 2015). "Typefaces for dyslexia". BDA Technology. Retrieved 13 March 2020.

External links


Free and open-source typography
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