Bold Stroke: New Font Helps Dyslexics Read [Slide Show]

Dutch researcher designs distinct characters into "Dyslexie" to make it more difficult for dyslexics to rotate, swap and mirror letters and numbers

ONE ON ONE: When a common font such as Helvetica (in red) is placed over Dyslexie (blue), the differences become even more apparent. Dyslexie font images courtesy of Christian Boer
NOT GOING WITH THE FLOW: Boer also increased the length of "the tail" of other letters, like the "g" and y." Here the Dyslexie font (in blue) is compared with Lucida Calligraphy (black). Dyslexie font images courtesy of Christian Boer
HEAVY BASE: Boer increased the boldness of letters at their bases, to make them appear weighted, causing readers' brains to know not to flip them upside down, as can occur with "p" and "d." Here Dyslexie (in blue) is once again compared with Arial (black). Dyslexie font images courtesy of Christian Boer
ABCs: The Dyslexie font (in blue), compared with Arial (in black). For Dyslexie, Boer enlarged the openings of various letters, such as "a" and "c," to make them more distinguishable from one another. Dyslexie font images courtesy of Christian Boer
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READY TO READ: Unlike other readers, dyslexics have a tendency to rotate, swap and mirror letters, making it difficult for them to comprehend what they’re reading. Some dyslexics even see letters as suspended 3-D animations that twist before their eyes. Dyslexie is designed to correct this. Dyslexie font images courtesy of Christian Boer

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