There are some rules to follow to make reading easier. Reading can be difficult if a person has a visual impairment because:

• The middle part of the retina is damaged.
• There is less light that enters the eye.
• The retinal image is blurred.

If there is not enough light to see and vision is blurred it is difficult to see the contrast in writing. If the central retina is damaged it is difficult to see small print.

There are guides that you can follow that will make reading clearer for people who are visually impaired.

Always make the text bold. Sometimes light letters on a dark background are easier to read than dark letters on a light background.

It is better to only use colour for titles and headlines as it will be easier to see text in black and white.

Avoid complicated, decorative fonts. Arial type fonts, with familiar, easily recognisable characters are best. Bold versions of any typeface are often more legible, since the letters are thicker.

Keep spacing wide between letters. Fonts that have the same spacing are clearer to read.

Some people with partial sight have problems with glare. Do not use glossy paper, as it is not easy to read from. Black print on a yellow background provides an excellent contrast but light blue print on a grey background is very difficult to read.

It can be helpful to use different colours and sizes on the cover of a book or document to make it easier for the person that is visually impaired to find.