“Computers have rendered us all gods of type, a privilege we could never have anticipated in the age of the typewriter.” Simon Garfield states this in his book Just My Type: A Book About Fonts. The... Show more“Computers have rendered us all gods of type, a privilege we could never have anticipated in the age of the typewriter.” Simon Garfield states this in his book Just My Type: A Book About Fonts. The fact that one can scroll through the pull-down typeface menu on any word processor and choose any style, made us much more familiar with typefaces and this led to us having favourite ones and ridiculing others. Helvetica for instance, is generally perceived as a typeface loved by hipsters and lazy designers. It even has its own documentary. Comic sans, another well known typeface, is an often ridiculed because of its informal character. It is said that it should never be used unless you write for children under age 10 and some people want banned all together. Typefaces, in other words, evoke some strong feelings. Garfields book is aimed at a general audience and not specifically at an academic audience and was well received, showing that there is an interest in typography among the general public. There has been some scientific research on how different typefaces shape our experience of reading too and it has become a commonplace in the design and communications field that different typefaces have different connotations and therefore have some kind of power. In this essay the proclaimed power of typefaces is explored by using the example of a recently developed typeface, Dyslexie. This is a typeface that should help people with a reading disorder read faster and with less errors. First, the main features of a typeface will be given. After that, a closer look will be taken at the Dyslexie typeface. Its main features will be discussed and research about the Dyslexie typeface will be examined to, in the end, make clear what the power of Dyslexie is. Show less
What is the cost of visual complexity? This dissertation sets out to determine the effect of the complexity of word formation on the legibility of Arabic and the role that vocalization plays in... Show moreWhat is the cost of visual complexity? This dissertation sets out to determine the effect of the complexity of word formation on the legibility of Arabic and the role that vocalization plays in reading. This is carried out via a holistic approach to legibility research that combines the visual culture with eye movement in reading and legibility studies. To do this it looks at the transition of Arabic manuscript letterforms into typographic ones, the anatomy of the Arabic script, and the predominant typographic styles in use today. It presents the design process of the specially designed Afandem typeface family, a review of eye movement findings, and a new definition of legibility that is rooted in the models of eye movement. The experiment used eye tracking to test 72 subjects in Beirut to determine the effect of the complexity and vocalization on reading measures. The results show that the increased complexity of word formation has a negative effect on the legibility of Arabic typefaces and that the short vowels add a cost to word processing even though they bring with them extra clarity that results in a reduced number of regressions. These results are discussed within the scope of the Arab world today, its cultural and educational setup, and avenues for further research are explored. Show less
