Broken typefaces are generally a problem in the design world—but this one is geared toward becoming a solution in the world at large.
Literacy Partners is an organization focused on giving parents and caregivers the tools to design better futures for themselves and their children, with an aim toward breaking the cycle of poverty and closing the achievement gap for children. This takes the form of classes, workshops and educational media—and now, a typeface.
The&Partnership worked with Literacy Partners to develop Sans 18%—a broken typeface that represents the 18% of New York City residents who don’t know how to read. In use, it provides a keyhole into what it’s like to navigate the world without a full comprehension of written language.
Previously, The&Partnership produced the “Unreadable Books” campaign for Literacy Partners—in which they took bestsellers in a Soho bookshop and scrambled the letters on the covers to give readers an insight into living with illiteracy.
To download Sans 18% at Dalton Maag, click here (requires creating an account)—and to donate to help “fix” the broken typeface, click here.