The world's first font for people with a learning disability has been commissioned by Mencap. The new font is the first to be designed in consultation with a group of people who have a learning disability.

Mencap has teamed up with leading font designer, Jason Smith, to create the FS Mencap font, which is easier to read but still stylish to look at. The charity has been looking at ways to open up more opportunities for people with a learning disability as part of its repositioning and an accessible font was seen as an important move forward. FS Mencap will be available for public use, rivaling Arial and Helvetica as the standard accessible font. It is hoped this will make reading easier for thousands.

Over a three month period, the learning disability group looked at various styles of sans serif and handwritten fonts. They considered how letter spacing, width, shape and style all affected readability and developed a very individual font with 260 characters. During the process, larger and more rounded letters were found to be more accessible. The letter 'v' was given a curved arm to differentiate it from a 'w' and the letter 'r' opened up to make it more legible.

Mencap's campaigns and information assistant, Ismail Kaji, who was part of the learning disability group testing the font, said:

"This new font is really exciting for Mencap and for people with a learning disability as there are so many things that you can't do in life if you can't read. It was fascinating to see the different styles of fonts and the way they look on the page. We took a long time deciding which were the easiest to read and the clearest to see. The results are great and will have an impact on Mencap's future work."

The ability to read is one that many of us take for granted but people who find it difficult to read can find it restricts their access to education, employment and even leisure. The font is available for people to use as an everyday tool to assist in Mencap's vision of a world where people with a learning disability are valued equally, listened to and included.

For interviews contact: Jason Smith, creative director of Fontsmith
Email: jason -at- fontsmith.com
Web: www.fontsmith.com
Tel: 020 7407 8800

Further information about Mencap contact:
Jaine Barry, Mencap senior press officer
jainebarry -at- mencap.org.uk
Tel: 020 7696 5603

— Mencap works with people with a learning disability and their families and carers.
— 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability.
— A learning disability is caused by the way the brain develops before, during or shortly after birth. It is always lifelong.
— Learning disability affects someone's intellectual and social development all their life. People with a learning disability find it
harder than others to learn, understand and communicate.
— People with a learning disability don't get an equal chance in life. Mencap fights to change laws and services and to provide better access to education, employment and leisure facilities, supporting thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want.
— It is not a mental illness and should not be confused with mental health issues. It is not dyslexia or aspergers syndrome.
— It used to be called mental handicap but we don't use this term anymore because most people with a learning disability find it offensive.
— For information about learning disability issues please call the Learning Disability Helpline (England) on 0808 808 1111 or visit www.askmencap.info
— For online press information, go to www.mencap.org.uk/press

Further information about Fontsmith

Jason Smith established Fontsmith in 1999 and takes the unusual stance of blending creative type design with the science of typography. The company has worked for a number of high profile clients such as the Post Office and BBC, ITV, Channel 4. Fontsmith also designs and sells exclusive off-the-shelf typefaces online through http://www.fontsmith.com