“There’s nothing comic about Dyslexia”, loosely translated: “Comic Sans” is a joke, dyslexia is not – this is the name of the Dyslexia Scotland association’s new campaign, which is not only intended to draw attention to its cause, but above all to encourage designers to develop reader-friendly and inclusive new fonts.
The font “Comic Sans”, which comes with the Windows operating system and is widely used in everyday life, is often ridiculed in design circles. On the other hand, this font is said (and its use sometimes justified) to make it easier for people with dyslexia, i.e. reading and spelling disorders, to absorb written information. However, there are hardly any reliable scientific findings on this: one of the few studies on the subject found significant differences between different fonts, but “Comic Sans”, of all fonts, was not among those examined.
So the fact that the Scottish Association is taking up this popular controversy should not be seen as an advertisement for the use of “Comic Sans”: “People with dyslexia can be excluded by the design of written information. Better design is the key to more accessible texts. Our campaign aims to do just that and to give designers the opportunity to pave the way for a more dyslexia-friendly way of thinking,” writes Katie Carmichael, Dyslexia Scotland staff member, on the campaign website, instead urging type designers to come up with their own new and inclusive font designs. The font guide offered for this purpose is certainly a useful tool – even if it only has the effect of raising more awareness of the problem.
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