In today’s world, reading is essential for participation in social life. Yet billions of people struggle with reading – not only in developing and emerging countries, but also in wealthy industrialized nations.

These difficulties often stem not only from a lack of education or cognitive impairments, but also from unnecessarily complex language.

Either way, information providers would be well advised to consider whether their target audiences actually understand the content they are providing, and whether it should be simplified.

And designers in particular should ask themselves how to design for cognitively impaired users.  There is not much literature or accepted design guidelines about it.

 

There are two linguistic concepts to make texts easier to understand:

1. Easy Read or Easy-to-Read Language

«Easy Read» is a simplified form of language specifically designed to make texts easier to understand. It is designed not only for people with cognitive impairments, but also for those with language barriers or lower levels of education.

2. Plain Language

«Plain Language» is also a simplified form of language. However, compared to Easy Read, it is less simplified and intended for a broader audience. This allows for more detailed descriptions of topics.

There is no sharp distinction between Easy Read and Plain Language; the transitions between them are fluid. The focus is on the target audience: Easy Read is primarily intended for people with cognitive impairments, while Plain Language is primarily intended for people learning a language as a second language or for people with limited reading skills.

 

What is the structure of Easy Read or Plain Language texts?

Texts in Easy-to-Read or Plain Language should contain only short sentences. Especially in Easy-to-Read Language, each sentence should contain only one statement. Complex structures such as double negatives, passive voice or subjunctive should be avoided. In addition, metaphors (figurative expressions) or ironic statements should not be used in Easy-to-Read Language.

 

Comprehension problems are omnipresent

As numerous studies have shown, our reading skills are steadily declining. Due to the strong influence of our modern communication technologies and the intensive use of social media, many young people have only a B2 level in their native language. In our example, this corresponds to the text in the «Simple Language» tab.

Our example text in the «Complex Language» tab is perceived as too challenging by most under 20-year-olds and is therefore not read. This text leads to a complete breakdown in communication with this target group.

Any company or information provider wishing to address younger target groups should take this into account and, if necessary, offer their content in Plain Language only in the future. Otherwise, they run the risk of being ignored by this target group.

 

Here is an example text in …

Complex language

From the idea to the draft to success

A good concept requires not only creativity, but above all a structured approach, good research, reliable experience and close coordination.

Together with you, we develop robust and user-centered concepts that make products, services and companies fit for the future.

From review and consulting services to the complete development of websites, mobile apps or Internet-of-Things applications – our goal is to create inspiring experiences.

Plain Language

From idea to success

A good concept needs a good idea, good planning, research, and experience.

We work closely together. We work with you to create strong, simple concepts. This will make your company future-ready.

We offer consulting and website/app development. We create digital solutions that are easy to use.

Easy-to-Read Language

We make websites and apps.
Our goal is to make them good.
Because a good website helps us all.

Good websites need:

  • good ideas
  • research
  • technical experience

Collaboration is also important.
That’s why we work together with our customers.

 

Designing for Easy-to-Read Language

One area that still receives little attention is the design of Easy-to-Read Language content. Most of the information available on Easy-to-Read and Plain Language refers only to translation or writing of text, but not to design principles or an overarching information architecture. The question of how to optimally design the user interface of a website in Easy-to-Read Language has so far only been answered to a limited extent.

Although the general rules of accessibility and good readability provide a solid foundation, they are not sufficient to adequately consider audience-oriented information architecture or perceptual psychological factors. But for a comprehensive and effective design of media products, these aspects are crucial.

Although a draft of the DIN standard 33429 «Easy-to-Read Language» was published in 2023, it does also not provide any guidance on the influencing factors of style and information architecture.

In the end, I had to work out many of the principles myself. In particular, the user tests I conducted brought many design guidelines to light. The most important guidelines are listed below.

 

Design principles for websites in Easy Read or Plain Language

In general

  • Use all accessible design standards that meet AA requirements.
  • The basic rules of typography for good readability apply especially to Plain Language content.
  • People with reading disabilities are more sensitive to usability issues. For this reason, it is especially important that all elements are self-explanatory and can be used as expected.
  • Even if it is stimulating and creative for a designer to break with traditional and established design concepts, this should be avoided in the area of Easy Read, as deviations from familiar patterns lead to high cognitive stress for the target group.

Layout

  • Follow the rules of «mobile-first design» as much as possible, i.e., implement a single-column layout with as few responsive breaks as possible.
  • If this is not possible, make sure there is enough space between horizontal sections and, if necessary, frame them or otherwise mark them as a group unit.
  • Use only left-aligned text constructions
  • Although it can be stimulating and creative to break through established, expected concepts, it is advisable to avoid this in the area of Easy-to-Read language, as deviations from familiar patterns can lead to high cognitive load.

Information Architecture

  • First things first: Build your structure logically and list the most important information first, not at the end.
  • Organize information into sections that are clear and easy to understand. Limit the number of sections to no more than five or six on a content page.
  • Add plenty of white space between sections and use clear headings to make the page easier to skim and scan. The space before a heading should be at least three times the font size.
  • Groups or lists, such as the navigation, should have no more than five to six items.
  • Avoid multiple levels of information, such as subcategories.
  • Units that belong together (all items in a group) can be grouped well with a clear border or light background color.
  • Expandable lists or accordions are well understood by Easy-to-Read target groups. These should be clearly marked as clickable.

Typefaces

  • For body text, use a simple, unornamented font that is easy to read. Serif fonts such as «Times New Roman» can be used also for this purpose.
  • A different font (e.g. a sans-serif headline font for a basic serif font) or a different color can be used for headlines.
  • It is generally recommended to set all headlines to bold or semi-bold to clearly identify them as such.
  • Use font styles (combinations of size, color, typeface, and style) consistently and functionally within a media product, and limit them to a maximum of six styles.
  • Use a minimum font size of 22px for body text. Depending on the typeface family or use case, this may be larger.
  • Do not use too many font sizes – a maximum of three to four and clearly distinguishable gradations, such as 24, 48 and 72px.

Typographic rules

  • Avoid italic or bold emphasis within a paragraph of text.
  • Always avoid shading fonts.
  • If possible, underlining should not touch or cross out the descenders of letters.
  • Use only mixed upper and lower case.
  • Line spacing in body text should be at least 160% of the font size.
  • Use one line per sentence. Column width and font size should be chosen so that there are no line breaks within a sentence, even on small devices such as smartphones.

Lists and tables

  • Use lists rather than commas to break up blocks of text, especially when describing procedures or instructions.
  • Use large list characters before lines of text.
  • Use ordinal numbers only when you want to make a sequence clear.
  • Use tables to make complex material easier to understand. A table should have no more than 4-5 columns and no more than 5-6 rows.

Tonality

  • Using a childish or naive style could give the impression that the target audience is being infantilized, which in turn could affect their self-image and dignity. It is therefore important to choose the visual style carefully to ensure respect and professionalism.
  • The key to the appropriate visual style lies in a primarily functional and expectation-compliant style. All visual elements should be clearly understood by the target audience, regardless of style. A minimalist or modern style can work just as well, as long as it has the necessary clarity and comprehensibility.

 

Sources and further information