Swiss typographic designer Renato Casutt has come up with an ingenious new reading system called Bionic Reading that helps you read text faster by artificially emphasizing (bolding) the first few letters of a written word and letting your brain fill in the rest.
How it works: Bionic Reading is based on the principle that our brain can identify whole words from just the initial few letters. By bolding the initial letters, fixation points are created. Your eyes glide over these points and the brain processes the rest of the word, thereby absorbing the written text faster.
People with Dyslexia and ADHD are also benefitting from Bionic Reading based on feedback received by their team and social media conversations. The method can further be adapted to the individual needs of readers by customizing the placement and opacity of the fixation points.
Know more in this video
• Try the Bionic Reading Online Text Converter
• Get the Bionic Reading Chrome Extension
• Get the Bionic Reading API
Twitter reactions
it’s incredible how reading this feels like finally unlocking 100% of your brain
(via @christophepas) pic.twitter.com/nU6CblVZWT
— juan (@juanbuis) May 18, 2022
Just wow! The text on the right is so much easier and faster to read and understand. This blows my mind!
How about you? Have you heard of #BionicReading before? https://t.co/bJ8G6xiGFx
— Clare Josa (@ClareJosa) May 18, 2022
What sorcery is this?
And how do I start getting all books in this format?#bionicreading pic.twitter.com/DeS2EB0cDO
— Hunter (@iveneverhunted) May 19, 2022
Bionic reading mode might be the best thing I’ve discovered this year. https://t.co/RKeMjcdMT4 pic.twitter.com/C1SHG2iGRW
— Joshua Pekera (@joshuapekera) June 18, 2022
Extremely curious how this would perform for accessibility. i.e: dyslexiaADHD and for people who don’t quite master the language yet. Could be an interesting case study to see which user groups would benefit from this. If it works, then it could be an awesome (optional) addition
— babyboytaksi (@babyboytaksi) May 18, 2022
As someone who is dyslexic and likely ADHD too, I found the second one so easy to read. I started reading the one on the left and got bored instantly. It feels like this was designed for me to read quickly and efficiently. I WISH they wrote exam questions that way!
— Corinne (@PricklyEmu) May 18, 2022
ADHD here, the right took less than half the time to read
Different people are saying different things but this is helpful for me— Beige Goat (@beigegoat45) May 19, 2022
Does Bionic Reading work for you? Does it make text easier to read? Share this post with a designer friend and voice your views in the comments below.