Have you thought about what inclusivity looks like in typography? I have been working almost for a year at Diversity Inclusion Office and this is a constant question I ask myself as a designer. As inclusivity is meeting the new standard in visual design and representation, should it also be reflected in typography? And the answer is absolute, yes.

One of the things we have at the office as a standard design guide is using OpenDyslexic. OpenDyslexic is a sans-serif type designed by Abelardo Gonzalez and published in 2011. It was designed to increase readability for readers with dyslexia. This typeface is accessible to download for anyone for free. The website encourages donation when downloading, but there are intentionally accessible for those in need.

As Diversity Inclusion Office, many of our media contents are infographics, sharing and bringing attention to the social topics. And having access to such typeface as OpenDyslexic when creating text-heavy content is a game-changer when it comes to inclusivity.

But here is something that is a little sad and disappointing. A 2018 peer-reviewed report found that the font did not result in faster reading or accuracy. And there are many similar reports that state they actually do not help increase the readability. But on the other hand, I have friends with dyslexia who have told me that OpenDyslexic helped them distinguish letters better as well.

I think that accessibility is very important in design and there should be more typefaces that help people read better. And there should be continuous effort tours making that improvement. And it is also our responsibility as designers to make sure that aesthetics is not overshadowing accessibility.