Note that there still have been no studies on its efficacy. At worst, it is a great font to avoid ambiguity between characters.
I really like the Roboto Mono Nerd Font
This seems to indicate it’s best for those with ‘low vision’ which almost implies there’s a more ‘hyperlegible’ font that’s better for those with standard/regular vision. Is this the case or should it be argued that this font is most legible for all and thusly also best for those with low vision? Just curious–would like to know what best runner-ups would be suggested too
This is largely a layperson’s opinion, but I don’t think there would be much of a difference. The thing is that perfect vision rarely happens, not just because of bad eyes, but because sunlight might be hitting your screen or you’re reading at a weird angle or contrast is bad etc…
And even if the pixels were beamed straight to your retina, your brain is still a pattern matching machine. If it’s easier to discern individual letters, it becomes quicker to select each word correctly.Having said that, if there were a font that’s objectively the most readable, we probably wouldn’t have a gazillion different fonts. Some folks here have said that they find this font distracting, for example. So, yeah, you kind of have to decide on your own, what works best for you.
I’m also curious how they went about creating this font. Any resources on how they go about proving/creating it’s ‘hyperlegibility’?
The website lists some features that enhance legibility. Some are common sense (ex. 1, l and I all look different), some are less obvious:
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Unambiguous Letterforms
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Clear Uprights
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Distinct Pairs
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Open Counters
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Spurs and Tails
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Special Circles (although this one could be just branding)
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Can I change fonts on my iphone, can I change it to this? I have a disability that impacts my vision and currently I’ve been relying on making text massive but this could be a better solution it sounds like.
No. Very irritatingly, iOS won’t let you install fonts normally.
In order for you to install a font, someone else needs to make an app for that font, and once you download and run the app that installs the font, that font becomes available anywhere.
This seems profoundly stupid to me and I do not get it.
There actually is an app for the older font, which you can find if you search the App Store for “hyperlegible”, where some guy is charging $2 to package up this free font for you.
Thanks, Apple. As usual you’ve done a great job ensuring that nobody gives away anything for free on iPhones
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No, can’t blame the app dev at all but we can blame Apple for making open source and other free software so difficult on their phones
I don’t think so. At least I couldn’t find anything on my settings app.
I tried to put this on my Kobo, but it just crashed it every time.
I also think it’s a good looking font.
This is nowhere near as good as the Open Dyslexic font. It looks weird, and I’m not dyslexic, but damn it makes me able to read so much faster!
I wonder how it works. Maybe it has to do with the intentional varying of the sizes of holes in letters, and the lopsided lines so one can’t be confused as another.
While dyslexia is actually a cluster of related issues, a common one seems to be with dimensionality. Basically, the reader’s brain assumes the objects are 3 dimensional. When the eyes make micro adjustments, the letters don’t rotate, since they are 2D. The brain misinterprets this as them rotating, or moving. This is perceived as them flickering or moving, in the corner of your eye.
There are several ways to break this effect. I suspect the shape is intended to mess with and slightly overload the depth sense. Strong colours can also disrupt it. E.g. via a coloured filter or glasses.
Just to note, my knowledge/research on this was 20 years ago, so might be outdated now. The coloured filters (actually tinted reading glasses) did help a relative overcome dyslexia however.
I find it ironic that their website has extremely low contrasting colors making it very hard to read.
(Look at the top left for the worst example)
Yeah it’s almost impossible to read
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I wish this font worked for me. I think my brain is defective.
I actually changed my Anki to OpenDyslexic a couple of months ago! I changed it again when Atkinson Hyperlegible Next came out, but I agree that OpenDyslexic makes reading a breeze.
My only grievance with OpenDyslexic is that I don’t think I could send reports with this font without pushback. On the other hand, I have sent multiple reports using Atkinson Hyperlegible and nobody has ever said a thing.
I wish there was an open font that tries to do the same thing, but with an aesthetic that wasn’t reminiscent of comic sans.
You’re looking at it, the one linked In the op lmao
I like how that font disambiguates glyphs that often get confused, but I found it to be pretty hard to look at, honestly. I think the main issue might be that the line thickness appears to be uniform at all parts in all letters.
See my reply to the other person for a couple of fonts to try :)
The Hyperlegible web site makes no mention of dyslexia, only visual impairment. Those are two totally different issues.
Well yes but beauty standards for typography run counter to accommodating for dyslexia, especially for sans serifs. Similarity in shapes, curves, weights, and stroke width are seen as beautiful, but they’re exactly what must be given up for more accessible typography.
Someone else in the comments here did mention Bionic Reading though, and there’s a free alternative in Fast Font, which has a gradient of weights for each word from black for the first letter to thin for the last one. Might be something to consider
But comic sans is funny
You’re right, I’m going to change all my fonts to comic sans (or whatever open-source variant might exist)…
This looks like the font used on shroom tshirts
I find this harder to read than almost any other “normal” font. I wonder if I have some other reading impairment I’ve never been aware of - having recently discovered I’m also not neurotypical
To be honest, studies around whether this font is actually easier to read for people with dyslexia haven’t shown that to be the case. At least, that’s what I remember from reading about it in a Dutch skeptic magazine (Skepter) some time ago. So if you have dyslexia and find this font harder to read, that doesn’t have to say anything about you.
EDIT: this seems to be the article I read, though it’s from ten years ago.
As a dyslexic its very hard to read. But dyslexia isn’t one thing. Its a broad catch all category diagnosis. So im sure it does help some. But damn its also ugly…
At the top of the page, I can feel there’s something different. It really felt weird to read.
But the more I read and scroll it somehow gets easier? Something like that.
But most of all I appreciate that there’s differentiation for all the potentially confusing situations that can and has been used for scams.
Time to try it more widely I suppose.
Looks normal to me
Thanks for sharing!
You can also download it at Github without giving up your email address or agreeing to some dumb TOS.
Thanks, it’s a nice font for reading ebooks on my iPhone
I switched my browser over to it to see how I like it. So far, so good.
This is probably a stupid question. If it is free for personal and all commercial use… which case isn’t covered by that? Could just say it is free to use.
OP just tries to be as clear and transparent as possible, because there are times when someone says something is “free to use” but then in the “fine print” they hide limitations.
It’s actually on their page, so I didn’t try to call out OP on that (and not saying you implied that, just to be sure) but am actually curious if that means something specific.
IIRC, it uses a free (libre) font license. So you’re free to do pet much anything. Changing the font might have some restrictions.
Yeah, it’s the SIL Open Font License. The text can be found behind their “End-User License Agreement” link.
I have good vision but I actually really like this font since i have a smaller phone screen! Anyone know how to install it on an Android phone?
It’s been a long time since I tried, but I tried to install Atkinson Hyperlegible on my android and it wasn’t possible without rooting the phone. Your manufacturer may have a way to add fonts, but for Samsung I was limited to downloading them through their Galaxy store, which had no fonts I wanted
Its beyond free for use, its OFL.
Only Fans Literature?
Ordinarily Frisky Lingo
Orange froot loop
Open font license
Would I be able to add this to my Kobo e-reader?
I wear glasses - but read in bed without them. I have a larger font size set - but thus looks like a clearer font too
So, legacy one (without next) is already available on a lot of kobo e-reader. But you should be able to install any TTF font on kobo: https://help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/articles/13009477876631-Load-fonts-onto-your-Kobo-eReader
Awesome - thank you
