A new typeface – greater legibility and readability for low vision readers
Atkinson Hyperlegible font is named after Braille Institute founder, J. Robert Atkinson. What makes it different from traditional typography design is that it focuses on letterform distinction to increase character recognition, ultimately improving readability. We are making it free for anyone to use!
Innovation By Design Award.
Atkinson Hyperlegible – unique design features
For Low vision readers – certain letters and numbers can be hard to distinguish from one another.
Answer – Atkinson Hyperlegible differentiates common misinterpreted letters and numbers using various design techniques:
Recognizable Footprints
Character boundaries clearly defined, ensuring understanding across the visual-ability spectrum
Differentiated letterforms
similar letter pairs are differentiated from each other to dramatically increase legibility
Unambiguous Characters
designed to increase legibility and distinction
Exaggerated forms
shaping of letters is exaggerated to provide better clarity
Opened Counterspace
open areas of certain letters are expanded to provide greater distinction
Angled spurs and differentiated tails
increase recognition and define distinctive style
Circular Details
Links to the history of Braille Institute and braille dots
Atkinson Hyperlegible – available for free to everyone
- Four fonts, including two weights (regular, bold, italics, italics bold)
- 1,340 total glyphs across all fonts, 335 per font
- Accent characters supporting 27 languages
- For designers and anyone interested in making written materials easier to read across the entire visual-ability spectrum
- Improve legibility and readability for low vision readers
