FS Me Font

Why Me?

All people should be valued equally, listened to and included. Therefore, we must support some people to understand certain things. An accessible typeface can help.

FS Me sets a new benchmark in typographic accessibility.

FS Me is a new typeface designed and distributed by Fontsmith.

FS Me has been researched and developed in conjunction with – and endorsed by – Mencap, the UK’s leading learning disability charity. It avoids the usual clichés associated with ‘accessible’ fonts. Mencap receives a donation for each font licence purchased.

FS Me has been designed to support people with a learning disability to access written information. Therefore, using FS Me widens the reach of any piece of type-based design work.

â&#x20AC;&#x153; FS Me helps me understand things that I read. If I understand more, I feel more independent.â&#x20AC;? Lorainne Bellamy - Mencap Research Panel

Different styles of type have been tested to gain an understanding of which are clearer and easier to read.

FS Me has been designed to exceed government standards for typeface accessibility. Its simple, elegant feel and extensive characters set provide freedom for scale and creativity.

The clear print standard specifies a minimum type size of 12 point, alongside other measures to improve readability.

12pt Arial

12pt FS Me Regular

A clean, modern sans serif proved to be the most legible. Warm and friendly, but not too curvy. Crisp and clear but not cold.

A great deal of care was taken with the positive/negative space of the letter forms and how much leading was used in text. This makes reading easier and more accessible for all.

Every character shape and its set of character combinations have been considered and tested for their appeal and legibility.

01

02

03

01—A low join at the stem defines the ‘r’ in character combinations such as ‘rn’ so that it doesn’t read as an ‘m’. 02—Subtle curves on the lighter strokes give a warm, approachable feel. 03—Large, open counters help to increase legibility.

01

03

02

04

O

Y IFJHIU

DT

PG Y IFJHIU

05

01â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Larger dots above the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;jâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; add clarity. As does a larger than normal period. And a comma with a larger and longer tail. 02â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Letters that can be easily confused have been clearly differenciated. 03â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Strokes terminate with a subtle softness that is friendly and appealing but at the same time considered and serious. 04â&#x20AC;&#x201D;An asymetrical â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; creates a feeling of movement in text and gives a slightly hand drawn cursive feel. 05â&#x20AC;&#x201D;A character stroke 17% of the x-height was proven to be the most legible.

C QC E 01

Ascenders

CEGILM HKQRZ Descenders

02

GHKUZ 03

04

0123456789 05

01—Many fonts simply mirror the ‘b’ to create the ‘p’ and ‘d’ which can be confusing. Each letter in the FS Me alphabet is unique. 02—Ascenders and descenders are long to accentuate word shapes. 03—Weight changes within character strokes are subtle making each letter simpler and easier to read. 04—Extended tails create clearer letter shapes. 05—Numbers are simple, following traditional forms for ease of recognition.

FS Me Light abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz