[Athen] Font accessibility

[Robert Fentress]

Hi, Gian.

I am not an expert in typography, but I was asked for advice on how to
evaluate fonts for accessibility a while back.  After researching a number
of sources, I made the following recommendations.  Note that I actually
recommended to err on the side of less stroke thickness, because, for some
fonts, if strokes are too thick it can cause features of the type to become
indistinguishable for individuals with reduced acuity. I'd be interested to
hear if folks think these recommendations make sense.

Anyway, here they are:

   - Font should use consistent stroke width.  Any weight changes within
   characters should be subtle.
   - Letters should have large counterforms or "counters"
   - Letters should have open apertures
   - Letters should have pronounced ascenders and descenders
   - Letters should have wider horizontal proportions
   - Letters should have ample lowercase x-heights
   - Font should have distinct forms for each character (such as tails on
   the lowercase letters “t” and “j”)
   - Font should use extended horizontal strokes for certain letterforms
   (such as the arm of the lowercase letter “r” or the crossbar of the
   lowercase letter “t”)
   - You should generally avoid scripts and decorative typestyles
   - Font should not use excessively light or bold weighting, but lighter
   is probably better.  Stroke thickness of around 18% of x-height best.
   - Sans serif, roman (as opposed to italic or oblique), and monospaced
   fonts are preferable for dyslexia
   - If font has serifs, they should be short, bracketed, and not
   distracting
   - If font is sans serif, ensure sufficient kerning
   - Avoid ALL CAPS fonts

*Situational factors*

   - Sans serif better for numerals
   - Condensed proportions better in cramped quarters
   - Sans serif better for smaller font sizes


*Heuristic Testing for Font Legibility*

As a simple heuristic spot check, to see how your choices might affect
people with low visual acuity, try this (note, though, that people with
dyslexia are also affected by font choices):

Go to TypeKits (https://typekit.com/fonts/) and for each font, at 16
points, enter the character set that follows:

qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm
QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM
1234567890`~!@#$%^&*()-_=+[]\{}|;’:”,./<>?

Using the NoCoffee Vision Simulator for Chrome (https://chrome.google.com/
webstore/detail/nocoffee/jjeeggmbnhckmgdhmgdckeigabjfbddl?hl=en-US), set
“Blur (low acuity)” to 3, and see how well each one holds up in terms of
ability to distinguish between characters, paying particular attention to
filled in counters.

In looking for distinctions between letters, consider the difference
between the following:

   - I (uppercase eye), l (lowercase el) and 1 (one),
   - 1 (one), and 7(seven)
   - ! (exclamation), and i (lowercase eye)
   - B (uppercase bee), 8 (eight), and 9 (nine)
   - 3 (three), and 8 (eight)
   - c (lowercase see), and o (lowercase oh)
   - d (lowercase dee), a (lowercase aye), o (lowercase oh), and g
   (lowercase gee)
   - 0 (zero), O (uppercase oh)
   - g (lowercase gee), q (lowercase cue), and p (lowercase pee)
   - G (uppercase gee), and & (ampersand)
   - 5 (five), and 6 (six)
   - 6 (six), and G (uppercase gee)
   - 5 (five), and S (uppercase ess)
   - A (uppercase aye), R (uppercase are)


*Reference*

If you are unsure what any of the terms I used mean, look here:
https://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fontology/level-1/
type-anatomy/anatomy

The sources I drew upon and the notes I took are available here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b7WeCYIkPizGbKI4G3213P_
0U0G4vC0zdTSQO-BU7cA/edit?usp=sharing

Best,
Rob


On Thu, Jun 21, 2018 at 9:07 PM, Gian Wild <gian at accessibilityoz.com> wrote:


> Hi

>

>

>

> Does anyone have some research or evidence about the accessibility of

> different fonts? We have come across a very thin-lined font and we have

> been asked for proof that it is harder to read than normal font.

>

>

>

> Thanks

>

> Gian

>

>

>

> (Sorry for cross-posting)

>

>

>

>

>

> *Gian Wild, CEO*

>

> *AccessibilityOz*

>

> *Company Twitter:* @accessibilityoz

>

>

>

> *Email:* gian at accessibilityoz.com

>

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>

> *Australia: *(03) 8677 0828 – *Mobile: *042 442 6262

>

> *Twitter:* @gian – *LinkedIn:* https://www.linkedin.com/in/gianwild/

>

>

>

> *Products:*

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-- 
*Rob Fentress*
*Web Accessibility Solutions Designer*
Accessible Technologies at Virginia Tech
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