Death to Icon Fonts

My Epic FEL talk from 26th September, where I cover some of the problems icon fonts pose for dyslexics

Transcript

1. Death to Icon Fonts
   @ninjanails
   Epic FEL, Sept 2015
   https://www.flickr.com/photos/minifig/3186925111/
   

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3. 1 in 10 are Dyslexic
   

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4. Flatulent clams
   

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5. Flatulent clams
   Fraudulent claims
   

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6. http://www.cafepress.co.uk/mf/94227980/keep-clam-and-stop-dyslexia_mugs
   

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7. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathancohen/4084485753/
   

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8. Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff
   Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll
   Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr
   Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx
   Yy Zz
   

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9. bp
   

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10. bp
    

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11. Gill Sans rnm MW dpqb l1IijJ
    Verdana rnm MW dpqb l1IijJ
    OpenDyslexic rnm MW dpqb l1IijJ
    Times rnm MW dpqb l1IijJ
    Helvetica rnm MW dpqb l1IijJ
    

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15. But all too often I see:
    

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16. Let’s pick on GitHub…
    

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17. Let’s pick on GitHub…
    

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18. Let’s pick on GitHub…
    

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20. https://www.flickr.com/photos/3059349393/3801594313/
    Some users may be hidden…
    

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21. People have different needs!
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/oskay/265899766/
    

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22. Screen Readers
    

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23. Favourite
    How would a screen reader read…
    

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24. Favourite
    “Favourite”
    

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25. Favourite
    “Black Star Favourite” or
    “Star Favourite”
    

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26. Favourite
    “Unpronounceable Favourite”
    

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27. http://unicode.johnholtripley.co.uk
    

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28. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nouqraz/308342941/
    Are we forgetting some people?
    

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29. Opera Mini
    

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30. “… We don’t download fonts;
    icons are what SVG is for.”
    Bruce Lawson, Opera
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/zeldman/14064254462/
    

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31. “This doesn’t just benefit Opera
    Mini users; many people with
    mild dyslexia have a special
    system font to aid legibility,
    which breaks icon fonts.”
    Bruce Lawson, Opera
    https://dev.opera.com/articles/making-sites-work-opera-mini/
    

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32. Opera Mini has 250M+ users
    (And then there’s Nokia Xpress, Blackberry 4 & 5,
    Android 2.1, Windows 7)
    

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33. https://www.flickr.com/photos/subharnab/2721507697/
    And then there’s you…
    

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34. https://goo.gl/EpsOu8
    

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37. https://speakerdeck.com/zachleat/remodeling-at-font-face
    

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40. Why do we use Icon
    Fonts?
    

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41. Does everything a
    normal font can!
    

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42. a
    a a
    a a a
    They’re scalable
    

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43. a
    a a
    a a a
    They can be styled
    

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44. https://www.flickr.com/photos/a_funk/3482647938/
    Reduces number of HTTP requests
    

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45. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dajdavies/9479980440/in/photostream/
    Is there a better alternative?
    

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46. https://www.google.com/design/icons/
    SVG
    

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47. https://www.flickr.com/photos/anjan58/7272291392/
    Accessibility
    

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48. height="200" aria-labelledby="title desc">
    Green Triangle
    A light green triangle with a dark green
    border.
    
    
    

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49. height="200" aria-labelledby="title desc">
    Green Triangle
    A light green triangle with a dark green
    border.
    
    
    

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50. https://www.filamentgroup.com/lab/grumpicon-workflow.html
    Scalable
    

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51. Multi coloured!
    By Peepo (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
    

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52. Can be animated
    http://codepen.io/kyleHenwood/full/Alayb/
    

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56. Retina
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/benm_at/8857900520/
    

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57. https://www.flickr.com/photos/spackletoe/90811910/
    

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58. 
    Image tag
    

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59. 
    xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px"
    width="20px" height="20px" viewBox="0 0 20 20"
    enable-background="new 0 0 20 20" xml:space="preserve">
    miterlimit="10"
    points="10,2.003 11.985,8.112 18.407,8.112 13.212,11.887
    15.196,17.996 10,14.221 4.803,17.996 6.789,11.887 1.592,
    8.112 8.015,8.112 "/>
    
    
    SVG tag
    

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60. 
    
    
    home
    
    
    
    newspaper
    
    
    
    
    Icon system
    

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61. .star {
    background: url(star.svg);
    display: block;
    width: 83px;
    height: 83px;
    background-size: 83px 83px;
    }
    CSS background image
    

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62. Right way of doing it
    

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63. http://caniuse.com/#search=svg
    Supported in modern browsers
    

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64. “Icon font perf in Chrome is ~5x SVG atm”
    Addy Osmani, Google
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/see_also/15049247418/
    

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65. Icon Fonts vs SVG
    

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68. Context!
    

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69. Menu
    

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70. Menu
    

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72. Menu
    

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74. Menu
    Menu
    Menu
    

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75. http://i2.cdnds.net/12/30/618x377/showbiz_opening_ceremony_4.jpg
    So why don’t we build it this way?
    

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80. https://www.flickr.com/photos/kitty-kat/6049220331/
    

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81. @ninjanails
    serendavies.me
    ninjanails.com
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/jenosaur/4051305996/
    

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