Named after Braille Institute founder, J. Robert Atkinson, Atkinson Hyperlegible font is great for low vision readers.
In contrast to traditional typography design, it emphasizes letterform distinction in order to increase character recognition, thus improving readability. Anyone with low vision is welcome to use it for free!
What is low vision?
It is a loss of vision that cannot be treated with medical or surgical treatments or with conventional eyeglasses or contact lenses. Low vision is a condition that makes doing everyday tasks difficult. People with low vision must learn to adapt to their condition and can be helped with a variety of low vision devices and tools.
What makes Atkinson hyperlegible font so unique
There are times when it may be difficult for people with low vision to distinguish letters and numbers while reading. The Atkinson Hyperlegible font offers a variety of design techniques to differentiate commonly misinterpreted letters and numbers.
Recognizable footprints: Character boundaries are clearly defined, making understanding possible across the visual-ability spectrum
Differentiated letterforms: Letter pairs are differentiated from one another to dramatically increase legibility
Unambiguous characters: Designed to improve readability and distinguishability
Exaggerated forms: Letter shapes are exaggerated to improve clarity
Opened counterspace: Some of the open areas on certain letters are enlarged to provide more distinction
Angled spurs and differentiated tails: enhance recognition and define distinct style
Circular details: Links to the history of Braille Institute and braille dots
Characteristics of Atkinson hyperlegible font
Four fonts, including two weights (regular, bold, italics, italics bold)
1,340 total glyphs across all fonts, 335 per font
Accent characters supporting 27 languages
For designers and anyone interested in making written materials easier to read across the entire visual-ability spectrum
Improve legibility and readability for low vision readers
Downloading and installing it
Click here to download the Atkinson hyperlegible font for free
Instructions for installing the font
Download the .zip file linked above. Extract the file to reveal additional folders inside. Find the Open Type Format (.otf) files for the four Atkinson Hyperlegible fonts (regular, italic, bold, bold italic) inside the “Print Fonts” folder. *Note that only the Open Type files are needed to install the font on a computer. There are five additional font formats in the “Web Fonts” folder for use on the web.
On Windows 10: Double-click the font file, then click the “Install” button in the font preview window that opens. The font will be installed. Alternatively, right-click on the file and choose “Install” from the pop-up menu that appears.
On Mac: Double-click the font file in the Finder, then click “Install Font” in the font preview window that opens. After your Mac validates the font and opens the Font Book app, the font is installed and available for use.
