bridging a communicative gap

by Janelle Hazeldine

Typography – there’s always the good, the bad and the ugly typefaces, but are there any that are universally liked, which suit many design styles, and more importantly which are legible to those with deteriorating eyesight?

Designer Tony Malone has researched the area of a diverse, yet inclusive typeface. “We conduct research on screen and display typefaces and paper stocks to improve legibility and usability, as well as more theoretical work on diversity and equality, including essays, consultations, experimental design projects.”

Results coming out of this are the typefaces:
• Proteus Serif: An accessible typeface for use on screen
• Diversity ONE: designed to be the world’s most accessible typeface

APHont

Signage design needs careful consideration of the readability of particular typefaces. From this AIGA article on legibility for older viewers:

“The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has set down rules for the use of appropriate typefaces in signage systems. These standards insure that more uniform typefaces are used, and that overly thick or thin stroke-widths, and overly condensed or expanded styles are not used. While these standards are an excellent starting point, it may be necessary to consider additional factors in regards to typeface selection for the aging eye.”

The American Printing house for the blind have developed a font called APHont, designed with low level vision in mind.

Looking at existing signage, the use of typography is often that of the authoritarian sans-serif category. Helvetica can often be seen as the ‘choice of the masses’. It is a popular, reliable yet a disreputable font that was made for clarity. For these reasons Helvetica is popular within signage and has been used to brand some well known products.

Helvetica on New York City, Subway