Technology

You won’t forget this! A font that helps you retain information

Image courtesy of Tech Xplore

Please read the inbox.

It says:

Here’s an article you’ll want to remember, since it helps you retain more of what you study or read, as well as makes people who receive your content remember your message. That’s why I’ve written the above in Sans Forgetica. It the latest technological invention that the Guardian calls the font of all knowledge.

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Please read the inbox.

It says:

Here’s an article you’ll want to remember, since it helps you retain more of what you study or read, as well as makes people who receive your content remember your message. That’s why I’ve written the above in Sans Forgetica. It the latest technological invention that the Guardian calls the font of all knowledge.

Stephen Banham is an all-around typographer, type designer, writer, lecturer, teacher of typography at the RMIT School of Design, Australia, and founder of Letterbox, a typographic studio.

In 2016, Banham collaborated with RMIT Behavioural Business Lab and their cognitive neuroscience experts to develop a new font designed to help you never forget. Called Sans Forgetica, it literally means “without forgetting.”

As Banham says:

San Forgetica features two key elements that questions your basic understating of type. One is the back slanting of the typeface. While we’re used to seeing italics slant to the right, it’s unconventional to have backslants. Backslants are only used in maps to indicate the position of rivers.

“The other,” Banham added, “is the gaps that we put in the forms themselves. These gaps are the process of how people read type.”

Some readers of this article are likely skimming it for its salient points. They want to see whether the article’s worth their time. On top of that, the topic or my writing may lead you to forget certain aspects.

Sans Forgetica uses gaps in its script to make you read its words letter by letter, consequently making you remember everything you read.

“We also,” Banham says, “get people to fill in the spaces that also slow down the reading process.”

So, if you’re an entrepreneur or a marketer and want people to read your content, use Sans Forgetica. It will slow down the recipient’s reading process and make your writing unforgettable. Ditto, if you’re a teacher who wants students to remember their material. Or, if you desperately want to remember the stuff you cram for your exams.

My daughter, a high-school student, disagreed. “It makes me look at the script and forget the rest. It makes my eyes hurt!”

“For me,” Banham told NeuroscienceNews, “Sans Forgetica is far more than the look of the typeface. It’s a rare fusion of different fields to create a very purposeful typeface.”

What do you think?

You can download Sans Forgetica for free at Sans Forgetica.rmit. There’s also a Chrome extension that will transform any article into the script.

About Leah Zitter View All Posts

Dr. Leah Zitter is a professional writer and researcher with more than 10 years experience writing for entities that include digital and print media, B2B and B2C organizations, small- and mid-sized businesses, marketing/ advertising/ PR agencies, inter-industry companies (e.g., hospitals, mining rigs, universities) and governments. Leah is trained in journalism, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), technical writing, and copywriting. Her Ph.D. is in psychology/scientific research.

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