Using AI to Generate Custom Interfaces for Each User in Real Time (Content and Text Format) Marjorie Jordan and Kathy Crowley July 25, 2025 The digital content industry is a multi-billion-dollar market, thriving on customization for users, yet we continue to ignore the reality that no two readers are alike. The next frontier of…
Transforming Reading with Cross-Disciplinary Research and Technology Working to change the way the world reads is a long and cross-disciplinary journey. Readability Matters is excited to announce the creation of the Better Readability Timeline, now available on ReadabilityMatters.org. This interactive timeline traces the history and evolution of the better readability movement—from early research to…
Increasing Text Spacing Reduces Visual Crowding and Supports Readers Visual crowding refers to the disruption in object recognition that occurs in clutter. In the case of reading, it is the phenomenon where the recognition of a target letter is impaired by the presence of adjacent letters. This effect can make identifying letters in a…
Advancing Readability Research Highlights from the 2025 Vision Sciences Society Conference Building on prior years of collaboration and momentum, the 2025 Vision Sciences Society (VSS) conference highlighted text readability as a critical area of investigation within vision science. In addition to a dedicated Readability Workshop, organized by The Readability Consortium (TRC), community researchers presented…
New Readability Sandbox Materials for Individuals Experiencing Cognitive Change The Mindful Libraries team reached out to Readability Matters, eager to explore how personalized text formats might further enhance the accessibility of their dementia-inclusive reading materials. Readability Matters is excited to announce the launch of three new Readability Sandboxes, created in partnership with the initiative.…
Readability Highlights Vision Sciences Society (VSS) 2025 Guest Author: Nilsu Atilgan, PhD, Lead Scientist, The Readability Consortium At the annual conference of the Vision Sciences Society in May, 1700 vision scientists gathered to discover exciting new science and make valuable connections. Digital readability drew significant attention at the 2025 VSS conference, reflecting a…
Conference Proceedings Published Engineering for Better Reading Performance Improves Educational Outcomes: Applied Learning Engineering Practices Kathy Crowley, Susanne Nobles, Rick Treitman, & Marjorie Jordan At the 2024 IEEE ICICLE Learning Engineering Conference, a powerful idea took center stage: what if simply changing the appearance of text could dramatically improve how students read and learn? Kathy Crowley (Readability Matters),…
Preparing the Tech Stack for Personalized Reading Required Foundational Elements Reading proficiency is a foundational skill, yet far too many students in the United States and around the world struggle with reading comprehension. As learning continues its shift to digital platforms, we face a pivotal opportunity: using technology to personalize the reading experience in…
Leading experts join TRC to advance reading effectiveness and outcomes The Readability Consortium (TRC) continues to grow with the recent addition of six new Research Associates, bringing the total to 18 distinguished experts. Representing diverse fields—including education, cognitive science, human-computer interaction, linguistics, technology, and typography—these associates bring a rich array of perspectives to advance…
VSS 2025 May 16-20 | St. Pete Beach, Florida The Annual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society encompasses the broad field of vision science, drawing on a range of disciplines, including visual psychophysics, visual neuroscience, computational vision, and visual cognition. The central goal is to understand how vision works and is used. This year,…