EGALI: Language and visual accommodation in reactive digital signage

When language is displayed on signage it does not provide all readers with equal access to what is being communicated. Those with different reading or language requirements are often excluded from understanding the content. Signage is experiencing a shift from physical and static applications to digital displays of information. Yet, the inherently flexible medium of digital signage often treats content in a manner that is inflexible and unresponsive to the needs of the user. Digital signage can, and should, adapt its messaging to the reading requirements that best suit each reader. This paper outlines the development of a typeface family and a digital signage prototype, each addressing different issues of accessibility. The two components work together as a flexible system of support that provides messages to the reader in the format they prefer or require. The typeface, Egali, is designed to provide quick legibility and features dynamic letter construction that establishes word and sentence relationships to encourage the flow of reading in multiple Western scripts. The typeface also includes options that modify letter construction and spacing to address specific visual or cognitive reading issues. These details of accessibility are provided on axes; which allow users to define the level of support they deem appropriate. The digital signage prototype provides layers of content tuned to the reader’s preferences. An easy initial scan loads content in the language and reading accommodation desired. Additional information is accessed by the user when physical proximity to the screen changes. This hands-free and intuitive interaction allows for a great depth of content to be explored in a small space by users with a wide range of technological proficiency, language fluencies, and visual abilities. This speculative typeface and prototype project serve to demonstrate a universal design environment where there is no priority for one written language over another. Content tuned to the preferences of each individual provides equal access to the information on public display. By enabling easy reading accommodation in the outward display of digital signage, the us and other dynamic is mitigated and allows for a shared interactive experience with the content.