What is Easy Read?

Three people sit a table giving a thumbs up sign. On the table is an Easy Read document that they are reviewing.

Easy Read is an accessible information format designed for people with a learning disability. The words are made easier to read, the text is big, and pictures are used next to the words. Here are our top ten tips for making Easy Read.

Five people sit at a table discussing an Easy Read document.

1. Think First

Begin by asking yourself a few questions. Who is the information for? What are the important things you want to tell people? Are you expecting a response? This will help you keep focus on what's important.

A snippet of an Easy Read document shows images on the left of the page with short, clear sentences on the right of the page.

2. Keep it short

When it's time to start writing keep it short - under 1000 words is a good target with sentences under 15 words each. Imagine you're talking to someone as you write, and avoid difficult or jargon words.

Why not try out our AI powered Write Mode to get you started with drafting your easy words?

A collection of difficult words on scraps of paper.

3. Explain hard words

Use bold text to highlight important points or difficult words. Explain what they mean the first time you mention them. You can also use box-outs to explain something really important. They are easier to spot if your reader needs to refer back to them.

A template for an Easy Read document showing clear layout with placeholders for headings, images and text.

4. Layout

Place pictures on the left and words on the right. Use a different picture or two for each paragraph of text.

Our Design Mode helps you to make sure your layout is clear and consistent.

An image of a firefighter and fire engine are shown next to a ruler marking that the image is 5 cm in height.

5. Picture size

Make sure your pictures are big enough to see clearly - About 4-5cm in size.

A man in a black suit points to font in different weights and labelled as 'Light', 'Regular', 'Bold' and 'Black'.

6. Fonts

Use a sans serif font like Poppins or Helvetica at size 16 point or higher for text with bigger sizes for headings. If you want more choice try Google Fonts, but please tone down the Comic Sans.

A woman scratches her head next to a question mark, showing confusion.

7. Hyphens

Make sure blocks of text are not hyphenated (when words are sometimes split at the end of a line). You can easily switch off hyphenation in your page layout software if you're not using Design Mode.

A man in a dark blue jumper holds a sign with white font on a dark background saying 'Clear' and with blue font on a darker blue background saying 'Not so clear' demonstrating differing contrast.

8. Contrast

Make sure the text is clearly visibly, especially if you are using colours. Black on white is generally best for body text, but life without colour can be boring. Sometimes squinting a bit can reveal poor contrast in a design.

Two women stand next to each other, one holding a clipboard and pen, the other holding a selection of short Easy Read documents.

9. Pages

For booklets aim for 8-12 pages. One time we genuinely witnessed a 100 page 'Easy Read' document! The point is big amounts of information are intimidating. PS: A colourful front cover with a suitable picture makes your information distinct and recognisable.

Two people sit at a desk thinking and discussing something, with calendars behind them depicting months to show they are planning ahead.

10. Plan it

Don't let Easy Read be an after-thought. Make sure there's plenty of time to make the information and distribute it while it's still relevant. It is as essential to people with learning disabilities as any other accessible format or translated language version is to other groups.