Inclusive typefaces that we know and love
What makes a typeface accessible, and why making informed choices is so tough
Designers love Inter. A free and open source typeface, Inter, according to its official web page, is used in products ranging from “computer interfaces, advertising & airports, to NASA instrumentation & medical equipment.” It is versatile, clean, and gorgeous, a truly great fit for almost every interface. Designers love Inter’s ubiquitous nature so much that some claim it “strips away the brands’ souls” by being omnipresent and bland.
We didn’t gather here to debate whether a single typeface can singlehandedly tarnish the world’s beauty beyond repair, but instead, to look at it through the lens of inclusive design. Inter’s description on Google Fonts opens not with a description of its character but with carefully crafted attributes, designed for increased legibility:
Inter features a tall x-height to aid in readability of mixed-case and lower-case text. Several OpenType features are provided as well, like contextual alternates that adjusts punctuation depending on the shape of surrounding glyphs, slashed zero for when you need to disambiguate "0" from "o", tabular numbers, etc.
That description made us think: what other features make a typeface accessible? What fundamental rules of inclusive typography should designers considers when choosing their next favourite sans-serif? Finally, are there typefaces, specifically designed for increased legibility, and what characteristics set them apart?
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What makes a typeface accessible?
If you are not a typography geek but a humble product person, such as myself, chances are, you don’t know much about the art and the science of fonts. Well, you may have heard that serif fonts are more legible, or that there was a magical list of universal fonts that are recommended by scientists and governments. Let start by quickly debunking some misconceptions about typography and accessibility.
Serif or sans?
Let’s start by saying that in the battle between serifs and sans-serifs, there is no clear winner. A tiny difference in legibility primarily stems from the serif’s increased letter spacing. “Five percentage serif fonts were slightly more legible than sans serif”, a 2005 study reads, “[…]serifs may, then, produce a tiny legibility increase due to the concomitant increase in spacing”.
However, that does not mean that serifs do not have an advantage over their sans-serif counterparts: there are studies that show how the presence of serifs (among other factors, such as font size, contrast, colour, and many more) increases the legibility of text for readers with low vision. At the same time, Canadian National Institute for the Blind mentions Arial and Verdana as “good choices”.
The only rule a good designer must thus follow is the one that prescribes avoiding complicated and decorative typefaces. Everything else is a matter of skill and taste.
All caps can still be accessible
Caps lock is a well-known destroyer of passwords and the enemy of polite and respectful online conversations. Not only does an all-caps text read as shouting, but screen readers may treat words written in caps as acronyms and read out each letter. The reasons to avoid writing in all-caps are plenty, accessibility often being cited as one of them.
However, as this gorgeously written article on WCAG2.com highlights, text written in all caps (and small caps) can be accessible. As long as the words are originally written using appropriate capitalisation and the capitalisation is achieved using styling (in CSS, for instance, you could achieve it by using “text-transform: uppercase”), screen readers will not have problems reading it as normal. The choice between aesthetics and accessibility is never binary: it is an elegantly balanced dance, a warm, loving embrace that produces beautiful inclusive experiences. All it needs is a touch of mindfulness.
Even Comic Sans is complicated
Some will say that hating on Comic Sans is ableist: it helps readers with dyslexia consume content on the Web and, beside its goofy appearance, features some great details that aid the reader. No, say the others, the empirical evidence is lacking. Helvetica, the most universally recommended typeface for users with dyslexia, is infinitely better in every way.
Chances are, you were not even considering Comic Sans as your go-to typeface (and who would), but this serves as important lesson: do not judge hastily and follow the crowd, do your research into the typeface of your choosing, and keep and open mind.
My favourite (inclusive) typefaces
There may not be a single “most accessible” typeface, but there are several that were designed to be more inclusive than their rivals.
Atkinson Hyperlegible
Designed by the Braile Institute, Atkinson Hyperlegible is a typeface that embodies beautiful inclusivity: a gorgeous grotesque sans-serif, engineered for readers with low vision, it is as beautiful as aesthetically pleasing as it is easy to read. Since its introduction a few years ago, the team has designed a mono version and rolled out an enhanced Hyperlegible Next font, all available free of charge.
Inclusive Sans
Inclusive Sans is a free, open-source typeface that “looks to change the conversation around readability in type design”. Olivia King, the designer behind Inclusive Sans, wanted to create a variable typeface with a strong focus on accessibility: one that a government organisation, an international corporation, and a school for kids with disabilities could use in their branding, products, and marketing.
Dyslexie Font
Dyslexie is more specialised and less universal than Atkinson and Inclusive Sans: it is created by Christian Boer, a dyslexic graphic designer, with the focus on readers with dyslexia. Dyslexie features a set of characters that help readers distinguish similarly looking characters. A premium typeface, available for $12/year, with a rather unique look and feel, Dyslexie is not likely to become anyone’s go-to typeface, but in certain cases, it may prove to be exceptionally useful.
In conclusion
The world of typefaces is rich and flavourful: new open-source and proprietary fonts specimen drop regularly, and the choices are more than abundant. Every brand, product, and occasion deserve a unique look and feel, but accessibility, as we know, does not have to get in the way: unless you are a member of the Florida Bar Association compiling a legal document, you will rarely find yourself stuck with a narrow set of typefaces that fit you.
There is Lexend, a “variable font empirically shown to significantly improve reading-proficiency”, according to its website: it adjusts the letter spacing and the shape of its characters to fit the reader. There is Open Dyslexic, a typeface with a rather obvious selling point. There is Bionic Reading, a programme and a set of fonts, designed to help people with attention deficit read with ease.
Although the typeface’s accessibility features alone are not likely to convince you, they might add a nice, considerate touch to your customer’s experience.