Bionic reading is, simply put, a concept to demonstrate the aim of promoting reading and comprehension of textual content in a ‘noisy’ world. This form of reading assists neurodivergent readers to more efficiently digest content.
How does bionic reading work?
Bionic reading works by bolding the first few letters of a word, making it easier to glide through text and stay focused.
See the below examples of text as normal, and text with the Bionic Reading mode enabled.
Normal reading mode:
“Bionic Reading is a new method facilitating the reading process by guiding the eyes through text with artificial fixation points. As a result, the reader is only focusing on the highlighted initial letters and lets the brain center complete the word. In a digital world dominated by shallow forms of reading, Bionic Reading aims to encourage a more in-depth reading and understanding of written content.”
Bionic Reading mode:
“Bionic Reading is a new method facilitating the reading process by guiding the eyes through text with artificial fixation points. As a result, the reader is only focusing on the highlighted initial letters and lets the brain center complete the word. In a digital world dominated by shallow forms of reading, Bionic Reading aims to encourage a more in-depth reading and understanding of written content.”
It’s great to see data visualisation artists innovating to make large amounts of information easily accessible and digestible for a wide array of readers. With web accessibility becoming more and more of a central focus, Bionic Reading is one example of how designers can make content more accessible to neurodiverse readers.
