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Hartley designer Daniel Britton creates typeface to recreate how it feels to read with dyslexia

A Kent designer has devised a way to show people what it feels like to have dyslexia after battling with it for most of his life.

Daniel Britton from Hartley has designed a typeface to recreate how it feels to read when you have the condition.

The 26-year-old was four when he was partially diagnosed with the learning difficulty - but didn't receive the right help until he was 18.

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The dyslexic alphabet
The dyslexic alphabet

It meant he failed most of his exams throughout school, except in graphic design and science.

Daniel says he was only allowed back to do his A-levels because the teachers thought he was "nice".

He was sent to an assessor at the age of 18, and the results showed he had the reading ability of a 10-year-old and the writing ability of an 11-year-old.

He said: "I wouldn't have got where I am if it wasn't for my graphics tutor in my last year of school who spent a lot of her own time with me to make sure I had the right assessment.

"When you have dyslexia you need someone to know you have it."

According to the charity Dyslexia Action it's estimated that 1 in 10 people in Kent have the condition.

Since leaving the Leigh City Technology College (now the Leigh Academy) in Dartford, Daniel went on to study at the University of the Arts London, and now works for a design company called Bunch.

He created the type face in his last year of university to show others how frustrating and embarrassing it can be to read when you are dyslexic on a daily basis.

Before the division
Before the division

It removes lines from normal lettering to simulate the difficulties people like him face.

He says: "Everything out there at the moment doesn't convey an emotion. It just tries to simulate what a dyslexic would see.

"When you see conventional posters, everyone else can de-code this image very quickly.

"What this typeface does is slows down the reading time of a person who isn't dyslexic to the time of someone with it.

The division
The division
The division
The division

"The best response I've had from this is from parents saying they can now understand what their son and daughter are going through."

Dyslexia is a break in communication in the brain that slows the reading pace down and reduces the absorption of information to a child-like state.

According to the NHS, dyslexia is a "specific learning difficulty", which means it causes problems with certain abilities used for learning, such as reading and writing.

Unlike a learning disability, intelligence isn't affected.

The dyslexic booklet
The dyslexic booklet

Daniel now hopes to raise enough cash so he can roll out an awareness pack to primary and secondary schools, to bring a greater understanding of the condition.

"I'm designing this dyslexic pack because the packs at schools nowadays are incredibly outdated," he said.

"I contacted the BDA (British Dyslexia Association) and I asked them to send out a dyslexic pack to me.

"I got sent a black and white bible for dyslexia. I just thought 'who's this for? Who are you helping with this? How is this inspirational?'

The message reads: "This typography is not designed to recreate what it would be like to read if you were dyslexic, it is designed to simulate the feeling of reading with dyslexia by slowing the reading time of the viewer down to a speed of which someone who has dyslexia would read dyslexia"
The message reads: "This typography is not designed to recreate what it would be like to read if you were dyslexic, it is designed to simulate the feeling of reading with dyslexia by slowing the reading time of the viewer down to a speed of which someone who has dyslexia would read dyslexia"

"I was so shocked they were sending out a text book, with over 400 pages in, to help a dyslexic person.

"They also have an inspirational poster of Brian Connelly on it, which is completely outdated. Children don't know who he is.

"The aim of my pack is to give a broad and easy summary of dyslexia. I don't want to create a book.

"It needs to be friendly and deliver the message quickly with links to the correct places for more information.

Breaking down the alphabet
Breaking down the alphabet

"I want to give people ways to overcome it and give students different techniques to use.

"More importantly, I want to tell people where the strengths in having dyslexia lie.

"If I can help someone achieve a C in maths rather than a D, that would be amazing.

Daniel added: "You often hear of a day dreamer in a class, or the kid who just switches off - that was me.

The perspective of the final poster and deconstruction of letters
The perspective of the final poster and deconstruction of letters

"I had absolute no interest of learning at all. It was such a struggle.

"When a teacher dumps a textbook in front of you and says get on and learn it, it's just a complete waste of time and resources.

"I've had a lot of interest for these packs, so once I've raised enough cash, I'll then start to send them out."

Visit Daniel's Crowdfunding page here and his website here.

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