A font created by a dyslexic designer could potentially bring relief to the up to 20% of the U.S. population who experience symptoms of dyslexia.
The typeface, called Dyslexie, better distinguishes letters that are often confused by dyslexics and slows them down while reading. Developed in 2008 and first released in English in 2011, the custom font is receiving renewed attention while on display at the Istanbul Design Biennial, The Guardian reports.
The font's creator, 30-year-old Christian Boer, describes Dyslexie's features as "a heavy base line, alternating stick/tail lengths, larger-than-normal openings, and a semi-cursive slant."
According to his website, Boer developed Dyslexie as a thesis project at the Utrecht Academy of Art. Subsequent studies at the University of Twente and the University of Amsterdam yielded impressive results — 84.3% of dyslexic children and adults who participated in the study could read Dyslexie faster than other typefaces, with 77.7% fewer mistakes.
The Mayo Clinic defines dyslexia as "a learning disorder characterized by difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words."
Dyslexie is one of several fonts that help those with dyslexia. Others include OpenDyslexic and Spellex DysLex. Dyslexie is available as a free browser extension here.
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