Typography for Dementia: Font Choices That Improve Readability
Typography choices directly affect whether a person with dementia can read a sign. This deep dive examines typeface selection, letter spacing, case usage, and sizing standards based on DSDC research and cognitive readability studies.
Typography in dementia-friendly signage is not a design preference -- it is a clinical consideration. The typeface, size, weight, case, and spacing of text on a sign determine whether a resident with cognitive impairment can decode the message before their attention shifts elsewhere. Research from the DSDC at the University of Stirling, combined with cognitive psychology studies on reading under visual stress, provides clear evidence for specific typographic choices. Getting typography wrong means residents cannot read your signs, regardless of how well-placed or high-contrast they are.
Sans-Serif vs Serif: What the Evidence Says#
The DSDC recommends sans-serif typefaces for dementia-friendly signage. Sans-serif fonts (such as Arial, Helvetica, and Futura) lack the small decorative strokes (serifs) found on typefaces like Times New Roman or Garamond. For people with dementia, serifs can create visual noise that makes individual letters harder to distinguish, particularly at the reduced contrast sensitivity common in moderate to advanced dementia. Sans-serif letterforms are cleaner, with more distinct letter shapes that reduce the cognitive load required to identify each character.
DSDC and evidence-based typography requirements for dementia signage:
- Use sans-serif typefaces with distinct letterforms (avoid fonts where 'I', 'l', and '1' look identical)
- Minimum text height of 25mm for room names and 15mm for supplementary text on door signs
- Sentence case (capitalise only the first letter) rather than ALL CAPS, which reduces word-shape recognition
- Medium or bold weight preferred over thin/light weights that reduce stroke visibility
- Letter spacing (tracking) should be slightly wider than standard to prevent letter crowding
- Line spacing of at least 1.5x the text height for multi-line signs
- Avoid italic, condensed, or decorative typefaces under all circumstances
- Limit text to essential words only -- typically 1-3 words per sign
Why Sentence Case Outperforms Capitals#
A common mistake is setting sign text in ALL CAPITALS for emphasis. Research on reading fluency shows that skilled readers recognise words partly by their shape -- the pattern of ascenders (tall letters like 'b', 'd', 'h') and descenders (letters that drop below the baseline like 'g', 'p', 'y'). ALL CAPITALS eliminates these shape cues, creating uniform rectangular word blocks that are harder to distinguish. For people with dementia, who already process text more slowly, this additional difficulty can mean the difference between reading a sign and walking past it. The DSDC specifies sentence case for all signage text.
Pro Tip
Test your sign text at 3 metres distance under typical corridor lighting. If the words are not immediately readable at this distance by someone with normal vision wearing reading glasses, the text is too small, too thin, or too low-contrast for residents with dementia.
Text Minimalism#
The most readable sign is one with the fewest words. A toilet sign that reads 'Toilet' with a clear photographic image communicates its message in under one second. A sign that reads 'Ladies and Gentlemen's Toilet Facilities -- Please Keep Clean' demands sustained reading attention that a person with moderate dementia may not have. Every additional word increases cognitive load and reduces the probability that the message is successfully received. The DSDC recommends limiting sign text to the single most essential word or short phrase.
Research published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (2019) found that people with moderate Alzheimer's disease required 3-4 times longer to read text than age-matched controls. Reducing word count and increasing text size are the most effective interventions for maintaining readability as dementia progresses.
Recommended Products
All our signs use a carefully selected sans-serif typeface in sentence case, sized to meet DSDC 1A readability standards. Text is paired with realistic 3D imagery so the sign communicates through both text and image simultaneously.
Typography is the silent workhorse of dementia-friendly signage. When done correctly, it is invisible -- residents simply read the sign. When done poorly, the sign becomes a puzzle that residents cannot solve. Specifying the right typeface, size, weight, case, and word count is a clinical decision that directly affects wayfinding independence.
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