This Is A Typeface For Dyslexic People

For those of us who spend lots of time writing on the computer, we know the right font can make all the difference. But, outside of a stylistic choice, most of us have the privilege of being able to read most fonts without a problem. Those with dyslexia, however, often struggle with reading type. Thankfully, Dutch designer Christian Boer developed a typeface for dyslexic people, "Dyslexie," which he debuted at the Istanbul Design Biennial.

Approximately 10 to 15 percent of Americans are dyslexic. Knowing this, Boer, who is dyslexic himself, developed Dyslexie as part of his thesis in 2008 and has since been marketing it aggressively. The new font can be used not only to write, but also to read emails, browse websites, and print out readable documents. It can be used for basically anything, which will help countless people navigate text a little easier.

He wrote on his website:

Traditional fonts are designed solely from an aesthetic point of view, which means they often have characteristics that make characters difficult to recognize for people with dyslexia. Oftentimes, the letters of a word are confused, turned around or jumbled up because they look too similar.

According to Boer, by giving the letters a distinct baseline, alternating stick and tail lengths, large openings, and a slant, the letters are all unique and therefore harder to flip or switch in your mind. Therefore, it proves significantly easier for dyslexic people to read.

Dyslexie is backed by a number of independent studies. According to the research, 84 percent of dyslexic testers were able to read faster; 77 percent made less mistakes; and 76.8 percent would recommend the font to others. Boer's creation is currently being implemented by a number of companies and government agencies to make their materials more accessible to dyslexics.

Boer's website also includes a list of books and e-books that can be bought / downloaded in Dyslexie. Now, as more people incorporate Boer's font into their products, dyslexia will not have to get in the way of people enjoying them — which is pretty cool, if you ask me.

The best part of the whole thing? The font is free for everyone. That's right — free. You can download the ready-to-use font here.

Images: Facebook/Christian Boer (3)