What is the Best Font for ADHD?
Fonts such as Helvetica and Arial are considered to be more readable for users with ADHD or cognitive disorders. Below, we’ll discuss how these fonts affect the user experience, and how to design an ADHD-friendly site.
Have you ever noticed that some fonts on a webpage pull you right in? They capture your attention and make it easy for you to skim content. Others though — it’s like trying to navigate through a maze (we’re looking at you Pacifico).
For those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) however, font makes a huge difference in their overall experience. The right font choice makes text clear and enhances clarity. The wrong font — it can muddle text resulting in a confusing, disjointed experience.
That’s where ADHD-friendly fonts come into play. But what font styles are the most friendly to ADHD users? And do they really make that big of an impact on the user experience? Below, we’ll discuss which fonts are best for ADHD and how it affects overall accessibility.
Serif Fonts. Sans Serif Fonts
Before we jump into specific fonts, a quick distinction between Serif and Sans Serif fonts.
Serifs are those little tails and feet you see on the ends of letters — the image below has them highlighted. Serif fonts, as you can imagine, are fonts that include those tails and feet on their lettering. Times New Roman and Garamond are common examples of Serif fonts.
Sans Serif fonts are fonts that do not include serifs — hence the ‘sans’ in the name. Common examples of Sans Serif fonts include Open Sans and Helvetica.
Generally, Sans Serif fonts are considered easier to read as they’re more simple and concise which helps to improve legibility. The tails and feet on Serif fonts can obscure the shape of letters, making them harder to read. This isn’t to say that Serif fonts are completely illegible; rather, readers may have to try harder to distinguish between text. For users with ADHD and other attention or mental health disorders, this can be difficult and decrease the overall usability of the site.
Best Fonts for ADHD
Here’s the thing: there’s no one font that’s best for users with ADHD. Rather, there are a few typographies that are generally better for readability and attention. Let’s get into it.
Helvetica
Helvetica is a “no-nonsense” font. It’s clean, simple, and easy to distinguish from other web elements.
OpenDyslexic
Originally crafted for users with dyslexia, OpenDyslexic is also beneficial for ADHD users. The font is designed with unique shapes and lettering which reduces letter flipping (i.e. b and d) to improve readability for ADHD individuals or those with cognitive disorders.
Arial
Arial is a classic font and is known for its clarity and simplicity. The font is very easy to understand and helps keep readers’ attention.
Verdana
With its tall letters, bold outlines, good spacing, and strong distinction between similar-looking characters, Verdana is an ideal font for ADHD users.
Open Sans
The optimized spacing and well-defined shapes of Open Sans easily guide readers’ eyes through online content which improves the overall reading experience.
Bionic Reading
Created by Swiss developer Renato Casuut, Bionic Reading was designed to make reading easier for users with attention or learning disabilities by “guiding the eyes through artificial fixation points.” More simply, Bionic Reading bolds the first few letters in a word which focuses the eyes and the brain fills in the rest. Because the brain reads faster than the eyes, it can improve reading comprehension.
Why Font Choice Matters for ADHD
Imagine you’re reading a book where every letter is slightly blurred or harsh on your eyes. That’s kind of what the wrong font does for people with ADHD. It essentially makes text less approachable and harder to read. The right font choice has the complete opposite effect — people with ADHD can read and focus on content with ease.
Along with improving focus and readability, ADHD-friendly fonts can improve the user experience for all users. As we mentioned above, these fonts are generally clear and simple and denote a friendly vibe — all of which enhance readability and better keep users’ attention. Essentially, you’re minimizing disruptions or distractions that hinder users from accomplishing tasks.
Most importantly though, choosing an ADHD-friendly font creates a more accessible, inclusive experience for users with disabilities. By creating a more inclusive site, you’re better positioned to serve users — all users, not just those with disabilities.
6 Best Practices for Designing Web Content for ADHD Users
Along with including accessible fonts, there are a few other design best practices you can implement to improve accessibility for ADHD or neurodivergent users. Here are six of them.
- Keep content clear and concise: To keep readers’ attention, it’s crucial to keep content simple and clear. Consider breaking content down into small, easily scannable chunks with short paragraphs or bullet points.
- Use images to break up text: Using images to strategically break up text is another way to keep content simple. It also enhances visual appeal, engagement, and additional context to text.
- Ensure a good color contrast between text and background elements: The right color contrast will enhance readability and better distinguish between web elements. A color contrast checker will help you find the right balance and ensure text stands out from the background.
- Allow for customization: Disabled users likely have their preferences for text size or color themes. Including customization tools that enable users to personalize their experience can increase user satisfaction and accommodate more users.
- Use larger font sizes: Just as the choice of font is important to ADHD users, so too is the font’s size. Using larger text enhances readability for ADHD users and reduces visual strain.
- Use focus indicators: Focus indicators, such as highlighting text or buttons, can help users stay focused and see their location on a webpage. This results in a more seamless browsing experience for people with ADHD.
Using these best practices enables you to create websites that aren’t just visually appealing, but also accessible and user-friendly for individuals with ADHD. And, most important, it results in a better browsing experience for users.
Create Accessible Attention-Grabbing Digital Content with AudioEye
The font you use can have a major impact not just on individuals with ADHD but for people with various disabilities. Remember: font isn’t just about making your site look good — it’s about making it feel right. Using fonts like Arial, OpenDyslexic, or Helvetica are fonts that can help a site feel right.
Font choice is just the first step towards enhancing accessibility for users with disabilities. There are numerous other factors that all play a key role in making a site feel right. The best way to get started? AudioEye.
AudioEye’s Web Accessibility Scan finds common accessibility issues on your website, getting you one step closer to creating a more accessible website Our Automated Accessibility Platform goes a step further by finding and automatically fixing common accessibility errors. Anything that can’t be fixed by our software is handled by our team of human testers who perform expert testing and provide custom remediations for more complex accessibility issues.
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