The Readability Study

Summary

Our 2021 study tested 20 typefaces against over 3,000 respondents and collected more than 300,000 user-preference data points sorted by user disability profile.

The finding that surprised us

Commercially touted “dyslexia-friendly” typefaces performed worse than several everyday sans-serif typefaces. Simple, familiar fonts were preferred by likely dyslexic respondents over specialized fonts that have been widely marketed as better for dyslexic readers.

This finding directly challenged established practice in the accessibility community and has been presented at multiple conferences.

What this shows

The methodology used by Accessible Thinking’s ASK platform produces non-obvious, statistically grounded findings that challenge common belief in the field of accessibility. The Readability Study was a proof of concept: with the right methodology and a large enough sample, you get insights that cut through assumed wisdom.

Assets

• Raw data available for reanalysis (available, get in touch)
• Survey source code (available, get in touch)
• Conference presentation available online