Alag Lipi: Can a typeface solve the reading problems of dyslexia?
In primary school, for my best friend, mat became wat, and my name was Sechi, not Sachi. Reading aloud was not their favorite classroom activity, and they were frequently accused of being lazy. Soon came 3rd grade, and with it, the introduction of Hindi as a second language to study and a whole new script to learn. Most of us didn’t find it difficult, but my friend did. Learning to spell and read a normally simple word was laborious and time-consuming. Mnemonics and sensory slates were used, but while their reading slowly improved, it was still not easy.
Today, there seems to be a slew of Latin typefaces that claim to be dyslexic-friendly. While it helps my hopes in encouraging the thought that design solves all, has incredible transformative powers, and can make the world a better place, can a mere typeface solve the dyslexic reading problem? Can a simple typeface change solve the reading problem? No, I don’t think so.
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is defined as a specific difficulty in acquiring reading, writing, and spelling skills that may be caused by a combination of phonological, visual, and auditory processing deficiencies. It is a learning disability that affects literacy acquisition. It is not a sign of a lack of intelligence or the absence of adequate instruction.
Reading difficulties in people with dyslexia stem from deficiencies in phonological coding and not visual sources. A child with these impairments faces a neurological processing problem that makes separating a word into its constituent sounds difficult. There are also possible links between low-level visual processing and dyslexia. So, this would imply that fonts with excessive crowding or slight kerning are possibly more difficult to comprehend.
The root causes of dyslexia are debatable. However, researchers and educators agree that the primary challenge is to give dyslexic children the tools to read more in less time and read with fewer errors because reading is one of the most critical interventions for dyslexia.
Because dyslexia affects a person’s ability to read and spell, alterations to the typeface design can help people focus on individual parts of the word. For example, many people claim that the irregularities in the glyphs of Comic Sans are attributed to its high readability.
Features in Alag Lipi
Like Verdana and Comic Sans, Latin typefaces have been historically preferred by people with these impairments. Simple manipulation in character skeleton and letter and word spacing has improved reading speed and comprehension.
The general rules of typeface design dictate that letters should be as uniform as possible, like in the Latin script, where the bowls of b and d are ideally the same. In the Devanagri script, letters like ण and प are primarily designed to have the same structure. However, disregarding rules like this has improved reading speed and accuracy.
Based on research conducted with Latin fonts recommended for people with dyslexia and preferred by them (Open Dyslexic, Verdana, Comic Sans, and Dyslexie), the Devanagri characters in Alag Lipi have been designed to reflect (a) different shapes of similar-looking characters to limit confusion and (b) wider inter-letter and inter-word spacing to curb crowding.
Each letter is distorted to look different from the letters that resemble its structure. I have tried to address the common swapping, mirroring, turning, and crowding in Alag Lipi. Another issue faced is letter crowding. Secondly, letter spacing in Alag Lipi is increased for optimized reading. However, it is also vital to note the similarity in phonetic sounds is also a
Testing
I tested each consecutive version of Alag Lipi against popular Devanagri typefaces Mukta and Baloo in three reading tasks, keeping in mind the reading level and age of the participants: (a) letter naming, (b) word reading, and (c) nonsense word reading. The output was judged based on the speed and accuracy of narration. Testing reading involving both real and nonsense words decreased the chances of misreadings via informed guessing from a linguistic context. The learnings from testing and reader input consecutively informed typeface development.
The testing pool consisted of 17 dyslexic readers, and 14 readers with normative reading skills between the ages of eight and ten who speak Hindi at home and can comprehend Devanagri.
In Alag Lipi, features have been applied to avoid 3D movements like swapping, mirroring, and turning. A system of alphabets where readability is improved by modifying letters that appear similar, as proposed by Hrant Papazian, was adopted. Standard rules of typeface design were tweaked to accommodate the unique problem set that reading with dyslexia presents. Also, Linda Silverman of The Gifted Development Centre (USA) says that visual-spatial learners, such as people with dyslexia, are pattern seekers whose minds are wired to seek patterns. Therefore, introducing contrast in character skeletons can help in easier distinguishing and perception and avoid confusion.
I grouped letters in modules of similar shapes and components to do this. I identified the similarities in the structure and emphasized the differences via careful character design to avoid confusion. The comparable descenders are slanted, matching openings and bowls have differing sizes, and the matching extensions have different heights. Alternate valleys and joints have been assigned to analogous characters. Kerning and word spacing have also been adjusted to allow better perception.
Each stage involved analytical, evaluative, and modification exercises that led to the latest version of Alag Lipi.
For Alag Lipi v1, the stand-out concern was the unfamiliar shapes of the designed characters. To combat turning, swapping, and mirroring, each letter had been assigned a distinctly different skeleton from the other letters that resembled it. The size of bowls, lengths, and inclines of lines at the same levels as other letters had been differentiated. However, the multiple heights and negative space shapes turned out to be uneven and unsettling. While some readers did not find it disturbing, 5 of the 17 dyslexic readers and 9 of 14 from the control group found it challenging to comprehend. The order of preference of typefaces was Baloo, Mukta, and the Alag Lipi by both dyslexic and normative readers.
I also experimented with heavier bottoms to create a visual center of gravity to ground the letters and prevent them turning. However, this version was not received well by a few readers regarding legibility, owning to sharp differences in weight.
So, while reiterating the character forms for Alag Lipi v2, the letters were modified to look closer to the regular script but still have identifiable differences. Experiments were also conducted concerning the character and word spacing to accommodate crowding concerns, which was well mostly received. 12 of 17 dyslexic readers and 9 of 14 normative readers preferred v2 than v1. The order of preference of typefaces was still Baloo, Mukta, and the Alag Lipi by both dyslexic and normative readers.
In the latest iteration, Alag Lipi v3, the following changes were made:
- The inter-letter and inter-word spacing was reduced but maintained to be higher than the regular spacing. Reading became more convenient and stress-free.
- A handwritten yet structured style was adopted to accommodate reader preference. The character ends were also rounded and were favored by testing participants.
- Strokes with variable thickness were also received well.
- The letters are designed to work independently and with other characters before and after it to aid early learning.
So, can a typeface solve the reading problems associated with dyslexia?
While there are debates about the efficacy of specially designed typefaces to facilitate better reading for dyslexic readers, the preference of some typefaces over others has been recorded. Alag Lipi is an attempt to ease reading in Devanagari, if possible, in a typeface. Future testing and research and further iterative rounds of changes and expert feedback that will follow will hopefully aid in refining this typeface and reaching a version that conclusively improves readability. It will not solve the reading problems associated with dyslexia, but it might help alleviate the issue.
TL;DR
Can a typeface change solve the entire reading problem in dyslexic readers? Not really. But, experts agree that the primary challenge is to give dyslexic children the tools to read more in less time and with fewer errors.
Alag Lipi attempts to ease reading in Devanagari, if possible, in .kerninga typeface. Based on research conducted with Latin fonts for dyslexics, Alag Lipi has been designed to reflect (a) differentiating shapes of similar-looking characters to limit confusion and (b) wider inter-letter and inter-word spacing to curb crowding. I grouped letters in modules of similar shapes and components since introducing contrast in character skeletons can help distinguish easier.
Each version of Alag Lipi was tested against popular Devanagri typefaces Mukta and Baloo in three reading tasks: (a) letter naming, (b) word reading, and (c) nonsense word reading. The output was judged based on the speed and accuracy of narration. In the latest iteration, Alag Lipi v3, kerning and inter-word spacing was increased, a handwritten, rounded style was adopted, and variable thickness was re-introduced in addition to the features applied to avoid 3D movements like swapping, mirroring, turning, and crowding.
View the full project here: https://sachibafna.com/alag-lipi/
