Moon Two: A Tactile Typeface Revolution

Reviving and Redesigning the Moon Typeface for Modern Accessibility

The inspiration behind Moon Two came from the standard use of Braille on signage. Greenfield saw potential in an almost extinct tactile font called 'Moon' and decided to revive it, making it more accessible for the modern era. The designer's research included visiting schools where Moon is still taught and understanding the challenges faced by students.

Moon Two is a hybrid typeface, designed for use in the educational system and at home. It combines the 171-year-old original Moon typeface with a custom Latin script, enabling joint learning of children with visual impairments and those with normal sight. The redesign addresses the confusion many children felt with the original Moon's rotated and mirrored shapes. The new design uses squared and rounded terminals to aid tactile legibility, signifying the beginning and end of character shapes.

The design process was dictated by the size of a fingertip, the primary method of reading for the tactile font. High contrast colors were used to aid partially sighted readers, with the printed font overlaid on top of the tactile font for clarity. The tactile font, slightly raised characters, is seamlessly integrated with its printed counterpart.

Greenfield faced several challenges in the design process, including improving Moon Two from its predecessor by fixing many of the flaws which contributed to its lack of use. This included reversing its tactile form from concave to convex and adding hard terminals on the right hand side of each character to better signify the end of a letter.

Moon Two has been recognized for its innovative design and contribution to accessibility, winning Silver in A' Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Award in 2018. The design was exhibited in Brick Lane, London, after winning both a D&AD Graphite and White Pencil in June 2016.

With Moon Two, Greenfield has not only revived a nearly extinct tactile font but also created a tool for inclusivity and accessibility. This design is a testament to the power of innovation and the potential for design to bridge gaps and foster understanding.