In my idea development I focused on d, b, p and q as this showed to be the most problematic letter form’s for dyslexic people because they tended to mirror these letters. This is due to letter-forms being so similar helvetica impeticular as it is created to be very similar the n and u are the same letter just turned around. I created a list alterations i would make which I found helped readability through research. Having a heavier stroke weight at the bottom, Bigger opening on c’s etc. Slanting letters and different heights on vertex. So these are all things i kept in mind while creating this typeface but tried to put my own spin of things.
I wrote down each of these characteristic so i could come back to it if I lost focus. I wanted to fit into my new typeface, then write over Helvetica and univers with two different approaches in mind. This was to get a feel for both fonts within my own style and see which font worked better. I used mono spaced lettering in one idea as research showed that fonts which where mono spaced increased readability however this is secondary research and can be distorted so I tried to not take it to seriously. I feel like this created a very similar pattern between letter forms something I was trying to avoid. I wanted each letter to have its own personality to create an identity for each form which would help with the readability. I used a curved edge within the b and p to help differentiate them from d and q. I liked this characteristic and decided its something I will use within my final resolution however I am not sure whether it will be kept as a curve, a flat line or something new. x height’s were increased as well as ascenders and descenders this was because research showed that this increases readability as it creates more for the eye to process. opening within the e was also increased aswell as the bowl. I stuck to similar principle for my alternative idea except I did not have the font mono-spaced. Curved out the stems to help prevent letters grouping. I also used flat slants to help differentiate between letter forms, I took inspiration from channels fours new typeface for this as I felt they represented individuality well and are branded this way however I was worried it was to close to the original idea so I checked this in feedback although it was not outright said it seemed this was the thinking within the drop. Development leading up to these fonts as seen in figure 1 and 2. Was through playing around with different stroke weights and shapes within the letters, I then simply narrowed down to the characteristics I felt where most suitable. Idea one focused on stroke weights.
Idea two, focused on monospacing.
First testers which changed quickly.
Design Decisions. So to begin research showed San serif was the easiest to read as the letter forms are easier to read. Larger x heights give the letterforms more surface this also increases readability. I created letter form strokes to go from a smaller weight to a bigger weight very slightly to prevent letters being turned on there heads such a n and u. I added diffrent slants onto the cross strokes to prevent them being confused with each other. I made finials bigger and longer to increase individuality. ascenders and descenders where both increased. The crochs on v, w, y etc have all diffrent heights to prevent simularity.
I wanted to in enhance parts of univer to make it more readable for people who have dyslexia. As a student with dyslexia I know it can be a struggle to read out loud, or when in GCSE I would read information incorrectly this could then mean I answered questions wrong or had to spend time re reading. As univer is used in tests and exams in the uk a more adapted version for dyslexia could help a large amount of students. The font could then also be used personally for spell checking or presentations. I used lower case as research showed this is the easiest to read due to variety of x heights. My initial changes to the typefaces where as followed I increased x height this was to give letter forms more surface creating a more readable letter form. I also increased the length of both descenders and ascenders because research suggested this would also increase readability. I also increased weight at the bottom of some letter forms slightly to help ground letters preventing flipping and rotating. Then I had an idea to put slight indents into each stem of the letter forms at a different x height on each this was to increase individuality between letters to stop them from being swapped around while reading. When I put this into practice within my test word I just found it to be quite distracting messing with the flow of letters and not actually helpful.
I then moved this forward. I rethought of more subtle ways to increase individuality while keeping a nice flow between letters something I came up with was useing curves within parts of the letter forms as letters have a different amount of strokes it meant there was lots of different variation throughout and it did not disturb the flow if anything it increase the aesthetics of it. I did not discard of the indent comply instead I used it on the tails of letters such a d and b. I also increased stroke weight along stems and thickened the weight of the strokes as the letter flows such as on the n. This was to help differentiate from the u. I also decided to curve each corner very slightly but left in the more noticeable curves for example on the n’s serif. This was to try create a bit more constancy throughout matching the bigger curves to the smaller rounded edges.
However after feedback and re-evaluating this design decision I went against it turning them back into pointed edges as it fits my criteria better, because I am aiming for it to be used in exam body of text. Feedback said they found it looked slightly childish, the rounded edges defiantly give it this feel and straight edges give a much more formal aesthetic. I also opened up letter forms more such as the e and thicken the baseline weight even more for better grounding.
Problems i have also aproach are letters close together being confused with other letter eg
rn was a problem as they can sometime resemble an m by having flick on the n stand out more prominetly it separates the two. also increasing the finial of the r puts it higher than normal which also seperates them. as you can see in figure (3) Univer if kerned closely could be confused as an m from afar and in a smaller size.
Final design decision I made to the rest of the typeface are as follows. I reintroduced slants again but differently this time I used them within the t and f’s cross stroke have them slanted at different angles to prevent them being confused with each other. I also used this idea within the b and q cutting off a slight bit of the bottom of the letter form this was to prevent them being flipped or rotated to look like there opposite p or d. I made finials bigger and longer to increase legibility. Ascenders and descenders where also increased slightly more as I felt they was still to short. The crotch on v, w, y etc have different heights to just further this idea of personality of each letter. I lowered the w’s vertex to prevent confusion with m. Additional flick has been added to q as standard q can be confused with p research recommend making the q a capital Q however i felt like this would create to much distortion within words. Weight along the baseline stroke has been increased more as well as the strokes in general, this is to increase legibility that bit more and grounding of letter forms.
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