Abstract
This study presents an inclusive, universal design approach to developing a Traditional Chinese typeface that addresses the accessibility limitations of TW-MOE-Std-Kai, the current standard body text used in Taiwanese elementary school textbooks. While TW-MOE-Std-Kai carries significant cultural value, its calligraphic style introduces structural and perceptual barriers to students with dyslexia or low vision, such as visual crowding, sharp terminals, and inadequate spacing. To solve these challenges, a four- stage design process was implemented: (1) Design Strategy Implementation, (2) Basic Stroke and Character Framework Development, (3) Glyph Expansion, and (4) Quality Verification. Leveraging the open-source Iansui Typeface as a foundation, the resulting prototype incorporates stroke refinement, spatial optimization, and modular design strategies to produce 200 accessible glyphs optimized for early readers. This design research contributes a replicable development model that demonstrates how universal design principles can effectively inform inclusive typeface creation for educational settings using Traditional Chinese script.
Keywords
Universal Design; Educational Typography; Typography; Readers with Special Needs
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.614
Citation
Hsu, C.N.,and Lin, T.S.(2025) Visual Inclusivity in Typography: Creating a Typeface for Children with Diverse Reading Needs, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.614
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 12 - Design Education
Visual Inclusivity in Typography: Creating a Typeface for Children with Diverse Reading Needs
This study presents an inclusive, universal design approach to developing a Traditional Chinese typeface that addresses the accessibility limitations of TW-MOE-Std-Kai, the current standard body text used in Taiwanese elementary school textbooks. While TW-MOE-Std-Kai carries significant cultural value, its calligraphic style introduces structural and perceptual barriers to students with dyslexia or low vision, such as visual crowding, sharp terminals, and inadequate spacing. To solve these challenges, a four- stage design process was implemented: (1) Design Strategy Implementation, (2) Basic Stroke and Character Framework Development, (3) Glyph Expansion, and (4) Quality Verification. Leveraging the open-source Iansui Typeface as a foundation, the resulting prototype incorporates stroke refinement, spatial optimization, and modular design strategies to produce 200 accessible glyphs optimized for early readers. This design research contributes a replicable development model that demonstrates how universal design principles can effectively inform inclusive typeface creation for educational settings using Traditional Chinese script.