Design Love: Open Dyslexic
Originally published 1 February 2015
Nothing makes me happier than when I see design being used for good. It makes me feel like a lifetime pursuing a design career won’t just end up in skinny models and coke bottles — I just want to see some change. So when I came across the Open Dyslexic font it restored my shrivelled designer soul.
Although the product doesn’t guarantee any type of cure for dyslexia, the typeface works by adding weight to the bottom of each character; as people suffering from dyslexia often find letters rotate, this reinforces the line of text. The spacing between each character and the shape of each a can also be altered to the user. Although there’s no professional research to say Open Dyslexic works, the product has hundreds of Facebook testimonials, and therefore shows the brilliancy of the online community, that doesn’t just wait for scientists to sort something out for them.
It’s admirable that the Open Dyslexic team have made a product that’s free to download, free to use, and accessible for all platforms and even languages. What’s even more admirable as it suggests other font options if Open Dyslexic doesn’t work for you, such as Gill Dyslexic and Dyslexie.
Although i don’t suffer from dyslexia (as far as I can tell), many of my close friends do, and I believe we all have a responsibility to respond to need. I do believe there are some flaws to the font- for instance, it is particularly childish design that doesn’t particularly compliment business/legal documents- it’s a complete step towards accessibility for all. And internet accessibility in particular is increasingly important.
Overall, I just wanted to share how designers can make a difference everyday. The product works with ease, and without disruption to normal procedure. And by helping people for no direct monetary gain, the designers at Open Dyslexic should be role-models for all designers (and maybe politicians) alike. Hopefully one day a range of such typefaces will be integrated into every computer, creating instant accessibility.
Image taken from the Open Dyslexic Website
