F is for Font

F is for Font.

Selecting a font for The Kindness Machine was much more challenging than I thought it would be. I had read about the benefit of using dyslexic friendly font and knew I wanted to incorporate that into the book. A dyslexic friendly font is a little more weighted at the bottom, may use a thicker line on some letters or a little “foot” on letters to help them sit on the lines. (See example below) Some fonts have a capital Q instead of a lowercase to help with letter reversals between a p, q, g. I was unaware there were so many different types of dyslexic friendly fonts when it was time for that part of the process.

You will notice:

* thicker line on bottom of letters

*bolder lines for capital letters

*”little foot” on letters such as L and T

Before I continue, let me clarify: a dyslexic friendly font does not solve all the areas of concern for a person with dyslexia. Dyslexia is an umbrella term and it is not simply letter reversals and wiggly letters. My thought was, if a font can be more mindfully selected to help a few readers, wonderful. If you would like to learn more about dyslexia, I found this beast of a book, Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz, to be very informative.

Another important piece when selecting the font was the size.

The best part is, people noticed the size! My 89 year old grandmother commented on how she was able to read the larger font. Our best friends with elementary children, who both wear glasses, said their kids did not have to bring the book so close to their face to enjoy the story. Even this blog is written using a longer font option. If it helps someone, wonderful.

Keep in mind font styles and sizes when selecting which one you will add to your book.

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