Celebrating Dyslexia by Josie Lynne Breuls

By J

reuls ie B

Josie Breuls 2022

Table of Contents Project Overview

Research

Secondary Research

Primary Research

Research Activities

Research Outcomes

Dyslexia Simulation

Font

Posters

A World Without Dyslexia

Taking Back Letters

Sculpting Letters

Framing Dyslexia

Branding

102

Colour

103

Logo

105

Exhibition

114

Final Outcomes

122

Author's Note

138

Project Overview Overview

Thesis Statement

The goal of my project is to make a space for dyslexic people to embrace their creativity. In this space, dyslexics can experience success, build confidence, share their ideas, and be celebrated. I do not want to focus on creating reading tools, but on encouraging dyslexics to embrace the skills they naturally excel in.

My thesis statement explores how we can celebrate dyslexic people through creativity. The purpose of this is to decrease the shame many dyslexic people carry from struggling to read and often doing poorly in school. Through this work, we can unlock the creative potential many dyslexics have.

I was drawn to this topic through my personal experience with dyslexia. Art helped build my confidence and I believe it can do the same for others. Creativity allowed me to embrace my dyslexia rather than seeing it as a burden.

My intention is to create tangible tools for dyslexic people to celebrate their unique abilities for creativity. I also aim to educate non-dyslexics about the experience of being dyslexic.

My target audience is dyslexic creatives. I am also interested in educating the general public about dyslexia.

Target Audience

Project Scope

Dyslexics

Something tangible

Students

Educational

People in the workforce

Celebration

Parents

Support

General Public

Acceptance Empowered Creativity Confidence

Research

Secondary Research My secondary research included documentaries, various TED Talks, The Gift of Dyslexia (Braun & Davis, 1994), studies on the dyslexic brain, and dyslexic artists/designers. I gathered statistics regarding the lives and experiences of dyslexics, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. This research helped me further learn how the dyslexic brain operates. What is dyslexia? Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects the way people process speech sounds and relate these sounds to letters. This makes decoding language extremely confusing and difficult. Contrary to popular belief, dyslexia does not affect vision or intelligence. When neurotypical people read, they use three parts of their brain to process the stimuli. In contrast, dyslexics often only use one. A close metaphor would be using your weaker hand to write. As a result, reading is much more time-consuming and laborious. Studies have shown that it takes about five times more effort for a person with dyslexia to read.

Strengths of Dyslexics Although the dyslexic brain makes reading challenging, it allows dyslexics to excel in other areas. This includes global visual processing, pattern recognition, spatial knowledge, sharper peripheral vision, creativity, problem-solving, and ‘big picture’ thinking. This allows dyslexics to excel in the arts, architecture, engineering, and entrepreneurship. Among those dyslexics are Leonardo da Vinci, Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, and Whoopi Goldberg. Problem Space 20% of the population has dyslexia, meaning approximately 4 to 6 kids in a classroom do as well. Most education systems base the way we teach, learn, and evaluate intelligence purely on reading and writing. This means that up to 20% of the population is likely to experience severe struggles in their learning. Many dyslexic people continuously fail while learning to read, a skill that comes effortlessly to their peers. As a result, many dyslexics are perceived

as not trying hard enough or as having low intelligence, leading them to be ostracized by peers and disregarded by educators. This experience provokes feelings of shame, insecurity, helplessness, and isolation. In turn, these feelings can cause dyslexic people to find acceptance in alternative communities such as troublemakers, 'stoners', or even gangs. Statistics The statistics regarding dyslexics are glim. 35% of dyslexics drop out of high school, 50% of people in drug and alcohol rehabilitation are dyslexic, and 70% of juvenile delinquents are dyslexic. On the other hand, dyslexics flourish in traditionally successful communities. 35% of entrepreneurs are dyslexic, 40% of self-made millionaires are dyslexic, and 50% of rocket scientists at NASA are dyslexic.

Take Aways These statistics show a huge difference in the possible futures of dyslexic people. Dyslexic people have so much unlocked potential that too often goes unrecognized. As previously discussed, many people who have shaped our modern world today through scientific discoveries, new artistic movements, and pop culture are dyslexic. By encouraging dyslexics’ natural abilities in arts, architecture, engineering, and entrepreneurship, dyslexics can build confidence and unlock their full potential.

Research

Primary Research My primary research was very personal. As a dyslexic, I reflected on my own life experience. I revisited my school work, looking at material from kindergarten to grade 8. (Thankfully, my mom saved everything). These were the years my dyslexia impacted me the most significantly. I also had many conversations with my brother who struggled with dyslexia, my parents, and dyslexic friends. Personal Experience Looking at spelling tests from kindergarten to grade 4, I relived the frustration experienced as a child. During this time, I thought of writing as drawing rather than a language system. I was a perfectionist and would often not write anything during spelling tests because I was too confused. I didn’t want to look stupid for writing incorrectly. Looking at the work, I was reminded of the helplessness I felt as a kid. In order to learn, I needed one-on-one attention from educators. As a result, I felt incapable of doing anything

school-related independently. I was so accustomed to being totally off-track that it felt like a waste of time to do anything on my own. This helplessness led to me experiencing many anxiety symptoms. Amongst my schoolwork, I found a note addressed to my teachers from my mother explaining these symptoms. I often complained about feeling sick and having tummy aches, and I was always exhausted. I was incredibly distressed at the thought of disappointing my teachers. I spent many recesses inside catching up on homework, leading me to feel completely isolated from my peers and causing me to become behind on my social skills. My mother later told me that she felt panicked when she discovered I was not learning at the same rate as other kids. She often felt misunderstood by other parents whose kids were doing well in school. Sometimes she even blamed herself.

Although school was very stressful and scary, from the very beginning I had natural artistic abilities. Through creativity, I found ways to surpass my classmates, giving me a lot of confidence and hope in my own abilities. Take-Aways I discovered how important it is to encourage struggling school-age dyslexics by allowing them to take space from the text-based learning environment. Dyslexics need to be encouraged by embracing and celebrating their unique skillset, regardless of other areas they struggle in.

Research Activity

Impact Ladder This activity requires a person or team to write their desired impact (of the project) on post-it notes. The notes are then organized by longterm impact at the top of the ladder and direct easy to achieve impact and the bottom. They then are required to identify a long-term impact and a key outcome to achieve this impact.

While doing this activity I learned I had two different key outcomes in mind, ideally, I will combine them or chose one: 1. Long-term impact: Society that values dyslexia. Key outcome: Celebrating Dyslexia in a beautifully unique, and tangible way. 2. Long-term impact: Creating an education system that literates and encourages dyslexics. Key outcome: More verbal and discussion-based learning, more whole-body/ kinetic learning.

Research Activity

Ecosystem Mapping This activity helps designers understand the context around their users and how it affects their behaviour. The user is in the center, surrounded by post-it notes describing what the user needs to know, feel, or do to achieve their goal. The community section looks at how a community supports or blocks the user. The services section explores what services could help the user achieve their goal. The institution section describes the rights and freedoms the user needs to achieve their goal.

Through ecosystem mapping, I discovered the larger context around the experiences of dyslexic people. I found I was mainly interested in two different areas: 1. The communities’ perception of dyslexic people and how this affects dyslexics’ self-image and identity. 2. Creating changes in the school system and tools to navigate this system for dyslexics. However, I realized that this path could be problematic because I do not have a formal education in the school system and I could easily spread misinformation.

Research Activity

Frame your Design Callenge This activity helps designers articulate the problem space. It asks the designer to identify the problem, and then frame it as a question. They then define the outcomes, and then identify-specific constraints and contexts that could impede the user from achieving these outcomes. The designer is then asked to create designs solutions and then revise the question.

This research activity helped me create my research questions. 1. How may we enable dyslexics in the school system through art and design to build confidence for learning? 2. How may we celebrate dyslexia within the community to decrease shame and promote creativity?

What is the problem you’re trying to solve? 1 in 5 people are dyslexic but the school system disadvantages them in every way which leads to high rates of addiction issues and crime in the dyslexic population. Even though they have really creative minds and potential. 1. Framing the challenge as a question: How can the school system enable dyslexics creative potential? 2. Outcomes to be achieved: Give dyslexics confidence to share ideas and become successful in society. 3. Context and Constraints to be considered: -Schools/teachers do not know to identify dyslexia -parents don’t have time/money to invest in child’s learning -dyslexics feel shame and hide, or come off clownish making it difficult to support them -Services for adult dyslexics are lacking and services for children can be expensive

What is the problem you’re trying to solve? Society sees dyslexia as a bad thing although 1 in 5 people have it. This stops creative potential and leads to higher rates of addiction and crime in dyslexics. 1. Framing the challenge as a question: How can we enable/celebrate dyslexics too bring their creative potential into the world? 2. Outcomes to be achieved: Build dyslexics confidence so they feel able to share creative abilities and feel proud to be dyslexic. 3. Context and Constraints to be considered: -dyslexics can feel lots of shame which makes them hide (stay under the radar). -dyslexics may feel crushed from the world. -communities may think dyslexics are lazy or make fun of them. -Most organizations school/work give dyslexics a disadvantage.

4. Possible solutions to design question? -create dyslexic awareness within school systems -create free school programs to support dyslexics artistic gifts -Talk about dyslexics in school to create a nonshameful environment

4. Possible solutions to design question? -Talk about dyslexia to decrease shame -Inspire dyslexics to be open about having dyslexia by sharing stories. -Inform people about how dyslexia affects the brain -Encourage people to celebrate dyslexia and show the benefits it brings to the community

5. Revised Question... How may we enable dyslexics in the school system through art and design to build confidence for learning?

5. Revised Question... How can we celebrate dyslexia within are community to decrease shame and promote creativity?

***Free-thinking activity

Research Outcomes I refined my project idea after reflecting on my personal experience with dyslexia, researching dyslexia, and organizing this knowledge through research activities. I choose to focus my project on celebrating dyslexia, rather than enabling dyslexics in the school system. I felt more qualified in the celebration area and I wanted my project to focus on dyslexics’ creative abilities. Moving forward in my project I asked this question: How may we celebrate dyslexia within the community to decrease shame and promote creativity?

Research Outcomes

Art/Design Education

Creativity

Success

Dyslexia

Wasted Potential

Insecurty

Shame

Struggle

Anxiety

Failure

Text Based Learning

Confidence

Ideas

Empowered

Celebration

After researching, I explored 3 design directions: dyslexia simulation, a world without dyslexia, and taking back letters.

Dyslexia Simulation

Dyslexia Simulation Font

Ideation As I was researching, I was intrigued by how the dyslexic brain works. As mentioned previously in the research section, dyslexics often use only one part of their brains to decode language while non-dyslexics use three parts of their brain. A dyslexic person is essentially using an inefficient part of their brain for reading, this makes reading about 5 times more effort. I wanted to create something that helps people understand the effort it takes dyslexic people to read. I thought an interesting way to communicate this idea would be a font that simulates dyslexia. The font would do this by reversing the letters as they type. While making the font I referenced backwards and misspent dyslexic writing. This is where I drew inspiration for the fonts’ style. It helped me create the letterforms and choose which letters to flip and reverse.

In addition to simulating dyslexia, the font communicates the disconnect between what the user is thinking and what comes out. This is something I struggled with as a dyslexic person. I often found it difficult to explain what I was thinking and to communicate my ideas.

Typical Brain Reading

Parieto-temporal (word analysis)

Occipito-temporal (word form)

Dyslexic Brain Reading

Broca’s area, Inferior frontal gyrus (articulation/ word analysis)

Dyslexia Simulation Font

User Tests After making the first usable draft of the font, I did user tests. I audio recorded the test and took screenshots of what people wrote. These user tests were very causal and people wrote whenever came to mind. I would later ask someone else to try and read what they wrote. At first, many people thought they were making typos. When they realized that something was wrong with the font they started having fun with it. It took the user longer to communicate their thoughts, they had trouble spelling, and it was difficult for the user to read their own ideas. It was almost impossible for other people to understand their thoughts. Many of the users sounded like dyslexic people when they tried to read the font. The font was very successful in simulating dyslexia and opened up important conversations.

“My brain makes me want to read the words backwards. B and D are extra hard, I hate this font” -Holly “It was confusing, it just shows random letters” -Alanna “It was tricky because some letters start to look like other letters, I think it's one word then it starts to look like another word” -Jasmine “Incredibly confusing and frustrating.” -Candice “I wasn’t sure if I was writing what I was supposed to. It’s like if you were to think something but then when you talk, it doesn’t match up.” -Dory “What! What is going on!? I don’t like this. It made me feel like I was 5 again and my dyslexia was affecting me in a terrible way” -Brian

Refinement I started refining the font visuals because it had some basic consistency issues. When looking closely at the first iteration of the font, you can see some issues with the thickness of the strokes.

Dyslexia Simulation Font

abcdefghi jklmnopq rstuvwxyz

Dyslexia Simulation Font

Final Font

ABCDE FGHIJK LMNOP QRSTU VWXYZ

abcde fghijk lmnop qrstu vwxyz

Poster Iterations After user testing, I found that reading the font simulates dyslexic very effectively and made posters with the font. The several iterations include definitions of dyslexia, stories about dyslexia, letters to display the font, and alphabets. The final posters contain personal stories and information about dyslexia, which gives more meaning as it allows the viewer to experience what it is like to be dyslexic more accurately. Using the headline ‘How fast can you read this?’ challenges the viewer and makes the poster more engaging as it gamified the posters.

Dyslexia Simulation Posters

Final Posters

Dyslexia Simulation Posters

A World Without Dyslexia

Ideation As I was researching, I was inspired by famous successful dyslexics. These dyslexics shaped our modern world through scientific discoveries, artistic movements, and pop culture. Soon I began to think of an alternate reality, one where these people had never existed. A world without dyslexia. I explored this idea by finding iconic images and photoshopping the dyslexic person or idea out. Some examples are Mickey Mouse, the Mona Lisa, and the theory of relativity, all created by dyslexic brains. This emphasised that dyslexia isn’t something we have to overcome, it is something that benefits our society. It also shows that these people made these things not despite their dyslexia, but because of their dyslexia. I decided to create a poster series with these images.

A World Without Dyslexia

Layout Iterations After creating many different poster layouts. The most successful iteration ended up using a frame. Because all the photos were so different from each other, the only way to consistently show the text on each poster was with a frame. It also allowed the image to be uninterrupted, this made the idea bold and clear.

A World Without Dyslexia

Text Iterations After finalizing the layout, I decided some of the images were too ambiguous because the viewers were having trouble understanding what was missing. The viewer needed a hint so they could discover what was missing. I made these hints as drawings on the images and messily writing text. The messy text seemed too much like vandalism rather than celebrating the figures' dyslexia. The drawings did not consistently work with each image and the message became too confusing. In the end, the most successful was the colourful text outlining the figure. This was a playful way to hint at what was missing. It also tied the posters to the theme of celebrating dyslexia.

A World Without Dyslexia

Final Posters

A World Without Dyslexia

Taking Back Letters

Ideation While researching, I was inspired by how many dyslexic creatives used their dyslexia as a tool to make original designs and art. Many dyslexics emphasized the importance of embracing their creativity and natural skillsets to let go of the stress and shame caused by learning to read. This made me ponder on how we could turn letters into art and use letters as a tool for creativity. To visually explore this idea, I started making patterns with the letters until they no longer resembled letters. It was empowering to purposely see letters the wrong way. This led to the theme of taking back letters as a dyslexic person. In this section, I generated ideas through making, the process of creating a final outcome was not linear and quite abstract.

Taking Back Letters

3D Letters I experimented with 3D letters by creating letters out of clay. This allowed me to focus on the physical aspects of letters, rather than their symbolic meaning. The manipulation of the 3-dimensional letters accesses dyslexic people’s natural abilities for spatial awareness. This ability makes it easier to visualize objects, but it is also the reason dyslexic people often have letter reversals. Creating these clay letters allowed me to celebrate alternative ways of looking at letters.

Sculpting Letters

Interacting with Letters To celebrate looking at letters in alternative ways, I painted wooden letters like confetti and tossed them in the air, and made a video of them falling. I made letters out of paper, pulled them apart, and looked at them in different ways. Being interactive with the letters ways a key component of my final iteration for this piece.

Sculpting Letters

Sculpting Letters After putting aside this idea for a moment, I had a breakthrough. I wanted people to see letters the ‘wrong way’ and experience letters as objects rather than a language system. I figured the best way to communicate this was an interactive piece where people use letters as building pieces to make sculptures. This actively engages people by allowing them to look at the physical properties of letters rather than their symbolism.

Sculpting Letters

Dyslexic Writing While working on the taking back letters project, I decided to paint letters on paper as another way to interact with letters. This sparked the idea of wanting to show the process or story of how dyslexic people write letters. I started by reviewing my childhood schoolwork. I found my journal entries from grade 1, which showed the time it takes to write and decode language. I copied the journal entries onto the computer and made a poster.

Framing Dyslexia

Painting Dyslexia I took the idea back to physical format by painting it. I copied my schoolwork from grades 1, 3, and 5. Painting my schoolwork was a very reflective experience. I could see when I was getting frustrated, I could remember what I was thinking or feeling while writing. I noticed when I changed the way I wrote a letter because I preferred an alternative glyph I learned from a teacher or friend. My biggest observation was I wasn’t writing letters, I was drawing them. As a kid, I copied almost every letter and studied its form rather than understanding them as a language system. Although this was a very meaningful experience for me, many of these ideas were lost in translation to the viewer. There were too many different ideas being communicated.

Framing Dyslexia

Framing Dyslexia After the previous iterations of this idea, it led me to frame my spelling tests from childhood. This simplified the concept and took away any unnecessary ideas. The spelling tests showed letter reversals and phonetic processing issues, classic manifestations of dyslexia in writing. Using these tests focused on dyslexia more clearly than the previous journal entries. Having the original work was most powerful because it didn’t hide anything. This put some of the most challenging times, as in learning to read, on display.

Framing Dyslexia

After refining these ideas, I tied everything together by making a cohesive brand and creating a space for all the work to live.

101

Branding

103

Colour Iterations For the brand, I decided to go with blue, pink, and green. These colours remind me of confetti and celebrations. I tried to make the colours mid shades without making any too light or dark, so the colours could all be legible against a white background. I made the green light and the blue darker to give it some depth.

Colour

105

Logo Brainstorming I wanted to embody the idea of celebrating dyslexia in a logo. I brainstormed different ways to communicate this. I used a celebration emoji. I tired using a box to show thinking outside of the box. The most successful idea used distorted letters to symbolize dyslexia and the idea of colourful confetti to symbolize celebration.

Logo

107

Logo Concept I experimented with iterations of the confetti, distorted letters idea until I felt the logo clearly communicated both ideas of celebration and dyslexia. I tested the logo by scaling it, displaying it in different colours, and in black and white. It was successful with all the different tests because it still had the playful, celebratory feeling while communicating the confusedness of dyslexia. Many other iterations looked creepy in black and white.

Logo

109

Logo Refinement I refined the previous logo until it looked the most visually pleasing and versatile. I made sure the letters were evenly dispersed and didn't spell any words. This version of the logo was the strongest, as it looked the most playful, celebratory, and more clearly communicated the idea of dyslexia.

Logo

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Final Logo

Logo

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Exhibition

115

Exhibition Setup Creating mockups for the exhibition helped me visualize the space and explain my exhibition idea to others. I painted a large version of my logo for the exhibition space. I used house paint from Home Depot and to paint the image accurately I used a projector to trace the logo. During the setup, I realized that every piece needed its own wall to have the proper visual space. There was also a very ugly chalkboard in the space blocking random machinery. At first, I tried to ignore the board, but then I realized I could use it to my advantage. It was an excellent space to display the “How fast can you read this?” posters. It gave them a school setting and people were able to write the times it took them to read the stories in chalk. This also allowed every piece to have its own wall.

Exhibition

117

Exhibition

Final Critique During the critique, people were most interested in the sculpting letters activity and the “How fast can you read this?” posters. I was told that the large logo piece overpowered the black and white 'World without dyslexia' posters. I decided to riso print the posters in blue, green, and pink so they tie together with the other poster series and stand out more.

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Final Outcomes

Final Outcomes I am very satisfied with my final product as all the pieces enforce the idea of celebrating dyslexia. The dyslexia simulation was successful in its user tests, as users expressed great confusion and became lost, thus simulating the dyslexic experience. My multiple iterations of the ‘world without dyslexia’ posters and logo ensured that my final products were professional quality. By experimenting with different mediums and projects, I was able to come up with the concepts of letter sculptures and framing dyslexia, celebrating the dyslexic mindset and perception. Having these pieces in an exhibition setting allowed me to celebrate my own dyslexia. I aim to one day continue this project by hosting a larger exhibition with other dyslexic artists and designers.

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Celebrating Dyslexia Josie Breuls 2022 Painting on Wood 4ft by 4ft This project celebrates dyslexia through creativity. The pieces aim to build more empathy for dyslexics and feature the unique abilities dyslexia gives people. This body of work includes many different mediums such as a painting, a poster series, a font, an activity, and framed work.

Final Outcomes

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A World Without Dyslexia Poster Series Riso Printed on Paper 11” x 17”

Final Outcomes

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Unlearning Letters Interactive Activity Acrylic Paint on Wood and Clay Size Variable To experience this piece, make a sculpture out of the available letters. While making the sculpture focus on the shape, angles, and structure of the letter rather than the letter itself. When you are finished crafting your sculpture, display the sculpture on the plinth.

Final Outcomes

131

Simulating Dyslexia A Font that Simulates Dyslexia Glyphs (a font making software) Size Variable This font simulates how a dyslexic brain process letters. Type any note on the computer. Experience the letters reversals. Note: it does not show how dyslexic people see letters. Dyslexia does not affect vision.

Final Outcomes

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Owning Dyslexia School Notebooks Framed in a Shadow Box. Pen on paper and Shadow Box 11” x 14” This piece displays my spelling tests from grades one to three. The spelling tests show typical examples of dyslexic writing; such as letter reversals and phonetic processing issues.

Final Outcomes

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Experiencing Dyslexia Poster Series Inkjet-Printed and Riso Printed on Paper 11” x 17” These posters tell stories about the dyslexic experience. Use your phone to time yourself as you attempt to read them.

Final Outcomes

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Author's Note Creating this project was an incredibly important achievement for me. Celebrating past and present dyslexics, through my work was an honour. I would like to thank my mom for always believing in me and being so patient with me as I struggled in school. I would also like to thank my teachers, Miss Parsons and Mrs. Millward, who put in countless one-onone hours tutoring and teaching me. Thanks to these people, I was able to thrive in my person and personal life.