OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 - Studio Brief 02 - Product Range Distribution - Using Type for Dementia

DEEP - The Dementia Engagement and Empowerment Project

Key messages

 • People with dementia have the right to written information about things that affect them, presented in a way that is as easy to understand as possible

• Language, style, length and format can all make a big difference to how easy it is to understand a document.

Vision Changes: Typography for Aging Audiences

How do I design for adults with vision challenges?

If your audience includes people in the growing demographic of over 50 years old, what is the best way to clearly communicate with them? The first, most obvious answer is that basic principles of good design and communication need to be followed. These include:

• Readable type size, legible typeface choice, reasonable line lengths
• Good color choices, well-contrasting elements
• Clear and impactful design, good layout and eyepath

The additional specifics of designing for an older population’s eyesight limitations are driven by some of the following conditions:

1. Loss of Light Advancing age causes the pupils to shrink, less light enters the eye, causing vision problems in low-light environments.
2. Inability to Focus The eye’s lens loses elasticity, becomes less able to focus while reading.
3. Vision Field Loss Age-related eye diseases include macular degeneration, which is vision loss in the center of the visual field; glaucoma, which affects side or peripheral vision; cataracts, which cause blurred vision, faded colors and glare; and diabetic retinopathy, in which damaged retinal blood vessels cause blurred vision, severe vision loss and blindness.

– All letters, numbers and/or symbols shall contrast with their background, either light characters on a dark background or dark characters on a light background. 70% contrast recommended.
– Characters and background shall have a non-glare finish.
– Letterform shall be Gill Sans upper case or other san serif or simple serif letterforms.
– Character Width to Height Ratio between 3:5 and 1:1
– Character Stroke Width to Height Ratio between 1:5 and 1:10

Do I choose between good design or readability?

Good design and readability don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Tiny strings of letterspaced type can be attractive design elements, but if they can’t be read by your 50- or 60-year old customer, they’re useless. Instead, the designer must create beauty AND readability, and there are many options to accomplish this while accommodating the needs, physical challenges and comfort level of an aging population.