Atkinson Hyperlegible Font

Published on

May 20, 2022

Named after Braille Institute founder, J. Robert Atkinson, Atkinson Hyperlegible font is great for low vision readers.

In contrast to traditional typography design, it emphasizes letterform distinction in order to increase character recognition, thus improving readability. Anyone with low vision is welcome to use it for free!

What is low vision?

It is a loss of vision that cannot be treated with medical or surgical treatments or with conventional eyeglasses or contact lenses. Low vision is a condition that makes doing everyday tasks difficult. People with low vision must learn to adapt to their condition and can be helped with a variety of low vision devices and tools.

What makes Atkinson hyperlegible font so unique

There are times when it may be difficult for people with low vision to distinguish letters and numbers while reading. The Atkinson Hyperlegible font offers a variety of design techniques to differentiate commonly misinterpreted letters and numbers.

Recognizable footprints: Character boundaries are clearly defined, making understanding possible across the visual-ability spectrum
Differentiated letterforms: Letter pairs are differentiated from one another to dramatically increase legibility
Unambiguous characters: Designed to improve readability and distinguishability
Exaggerated forms: Letter shapes are exaggerated to improve clarity
Opened counterspace: Some of the open areas on certain letters are enlarged to provide more distinction
Angled spurs and differentiated tails: enhance recognition and define distinct style
Circular details: Links to the history of Braille Institute and braille dots

Characteristics of Atkinson hyperlegible font

Four fonts, including two weights (regular, bold, italics, italics bold)
1,340 total glyphs across all fonts, 335 per font
Accent characters supporting 27 languages
For designers and anyone interested in making written materials easier to read across the entire visual-ability spectrum
Improve legibility and readability for low vision readers

Downloading and installing it

Click here to download the Atkinson hyperlegible font for free

Instructions for installing the font

Download the .zip file linked above. Extract the file to reveal additional folders inside. Find the Open Type Format (.otf) files for the four Atkinson Hyperlegible fonts (regular, italic, bold, bold italic) inside the “Print Fonts” folder. *Note that only the Open Type files are needed to install the font on a computer. There are five additional font formats in the “Web Fonts” folder for use on the web.

On Windows 10: Double-click the font file, then click the “Install” button in the font preview window that opens. The font will be installed. Alternatively, right-click on the file and choose “Install” from the pop-up menu that appears.

On Mac: Double-click the font file in the Finder, then click “Install Font” in the font preview window that opens. After your Mac validates the font and opens the Font Book app, the font is installed and available for use.

Schedule a low vision evaluation at American Family Vision Clinic

At American Family Vision Clinic we offer advanced low vision optometric eyecare. Our low vision optometrist spends time with each patient to understand their visual capabilities and what goals they have for improving their vision. After a full evaluation our low vision optometrist will help guide the patient through the various options available such as handheld and wearable devices that provide additional magnification, color contrast, and field of view. Furthermore our low vision optometrist will guide the patient on the resources available through different organizations and tools that can help them in their activities of daily living. Call our office at (360) 491-2121 to schedule a low vision evaluation.

Testimonials

Such a nice optician. My grandson is only 4 and needs glasses. We were so sad, but he explained the issues, and we will follow up as he suggested.

Anna P.

I had such a good experience with the clinic. Very friendly staff and doctor, did not have to wait for long to be called, and was treated respectfully. Thanks, American Family.

June S.

Dr. Zurcher has gone above and beyond what any other eye doctor has ever done to figure out what is going on with my eyes. Very happy with American Family Vision.

Christine R.

Family Vision Clinic changed our lives! My daughter was frequently car sick, and she was getting headaches every day, often painful enough that they brought her to tears. We saw a string of doctors and therapists, but we made no progress. Finally, we found Dr. Levi Zurcher and his eye therapist Rain. After ten weeks of eye therapy my daughter no longer gets headaches, and she no longer gets car sick. Daily tears are a thing of the past. I really can’t say enough about this clinic. It was fascinating to watch Dr. Zurcher work. For the first time, someone who knew what they were doing was intently studying my daughter, really trying to figure out all of her eye issues, and his therapist Rain is one of the most patient and lovely people that I’ve ever had the good fortune to meet. We’re finished with eye therapy—yay!—and I have switched to American Family Vision Clinic for all of my family’s other eye health needs.

Lars Wulff

Very professional, yet kind and helpful. They do what they can to make the appointment comfortable. I was running a bit late, I made sure ti call. They were able to switch me with a patient who was already there, they treated me with respect, and helped my son have confidence by getting him the eye care he needed that day. Thank you so much! Would recommend to anyone. It's a blessing that they care enough to work with people who have all different types of insurance from work to state coverage.