Posts By: Readability Matters

Base Font Effect on Reading Performance

Readability Matters advocates for the provision of a full set of Readability Features (including font choice, size, character spacing, character expansion, and line spacing.) Previous Readability Matters research has demonstrated significant numbers of readers benefit from the simple change to a clean round font, such as AvantGarde. Font matters for these readers as well as […]

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Moving Toward Solutions, The Path to Personalized Reading

There are many challenges in creating a personalized reading paradigm from digital content to availability of Readability Features and the standards required to support personalized reading. The challenge is great, but the opportunity is significant. Read the full white paper here.   Moving Toward Solutions, The Path to Personalized Reading Readability Features required to tune […]

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Advancing the Reading Ecosystem

Readability Matters White Paper: Advancing the Reading Ecosystem Toward a Future of Personalized Reading: Human Factors Research + IT Systems Promise Value for Education, Business and Individuals Kathy Crowley and Marjorie Jordan May 7, 2019 SUMMARY It is well proven that small changes to text format impact reading speed and accuracy for individuals. Further, the […]

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Readability Formats Deliver Instantaneous Change

Think about the person that uses prescription eyeglasses… As they put them on, their speed of accurate reading immediately increases. Some people question whether or not text format changes (such as size, shape, and spacing) can significantly impact readability. A reader with the perfect pair of glasses offers an analogy. For readers who need them, […]

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Tech Proof of Concept Results White Paper

Readability Matters White Paper: Maximizing Individual Reading Performance with Tuned Text Kathy Crowley and Marjorie Jordan Many researchers have demonstrated the value of changing text format to increase reading speed and accuracy for an individual. THE PROBLEM Unfortunately, the issue with adopting more readable text as an approach for education or even for individuals is the […]

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How Reading Works – Fluency Leads to Comprehension

Orthographic Processing Becoming a strong reader requires both the capacity to utilize sound-based decoding strategies and the ability to recognize familiar words accurately. Orthographic processing includes the ability to identify familiar letter patterns as words. Good readers rely less heavily on sound-based decoding strategies and more on orthographic processing. Fluency “Fluency is defined as the […]

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Legibility vs. Readability

Readability Creates Better Reading Experiences To explore the difference between legibility and readability of reading material, it is important to understand that legibility is a component of readability.   Legibility is an informal measure of how easy it is to distinguish one letter from another in a particular typeface.   Readability is about the reader […]

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Theory of Change

Planning for Reader Impact The tech-for-good nonprofit Readability Matters’ ultimate goals are to deliver increased engagement and success for student learners and efficiency and productivity for knowledge workers. Theory of Change is a planning tool that is used in the nonprofit sector to promote social change. A Theory of Change document sets long-term goals and […]

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White Paper: Optimizing Reading Performance…

Optimizing Reading Performance by Manipulating the Shape, Size, and Spacing of Text to Match the Individual’s Visual Processing Capacity Bonnie Shaver-Troup, Kathy Crowley, Marjorie Jordan Published by the Collective Impact Project, revReading, September 2017 The ability to read quickly and efficiently is essential in the digital world with the exponential proliferation of information. Yet, reading problems […]

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