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Readability for our digital future

Readability changes the value of your words.

We study how digital devices can learn what each reader needs, then deliver the formatting and content that help. From the classroom to the operating room, in low vision readers and high-speed trading, TRC brings vital information into focus.

Did your message get through?

Finding

One font does not fit all.

Across 352 readers, the median reader read 25% faster in their fastest of five fonts than in their slowest, without affecting comprehension. Some gained far more, and the fastest font was different for different readers.

Wallace, Bylinskii, Dobres, Kerr, Berlow, Treitman, Kumawat, Arpin, Miller, Huang & Sawyer. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 2022. doi:10.1145/3502222

Read the paper (PDF)

Gains Relative to Slowest FontNumber of readers50100100120140160180200+Median reader: 125Speed in fastest font (slowest = 100)
Among even highly legible common fonts, the median reader gets a 25% boost from using a font tailored to their needs. Some readers double in speed. Those tested include Arial, Avant Garde, Avenir Next, Calibri, EB Garamond, Franklin Gothic, Helvetica Neue, Lato, Montserrat, Noto Sans, Open Sans, Oswald, Poynter Gothic Text, Roboto, Times and Utopia.

Now

What we are working on

Driving simulator

Typeface and driver safety

Whether the type on in-vehicle screens changes how drivers read and respond, tested in a driving simulator.

Funded by Florida

Readability in the classroom

Font and spacing fit for K-12 students, with research funded by the State of Florida.

Published 2025

Beyond the Latin alphabet

Readability across scripts and languages: Arabic, Devanagari and other writing systems.

Members

Join us in enhancing reading for all.

For companies whose products put words in front of readers. TRC is directed by Ben D. Sawyer, PhD, of the University of Central Florida, and our industry and nonprofit full member board steers the research.