Readability Matters and Adobe Collaborate on New Approach to Reading

Tech for good nonprofit Readability Matters has announced their partnership with Adobe and other experts in research and education to advance their mission of building a network of thinkers and doers delivering personalized reading environments and empowering everyone everywhere to achieve more.

Readability Matters was founded by Fort Collins local and former HP director Marjorie Jordan and Kathy Crowley to make the world a better place through proficient readers. Majorie helped launch the advanced tool in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader app called Liquid Mode, unveiled at the Adobe MAX 2020 virtual conference by Adobe Vice President and General Manager Mala Sharma.

“The Readability Matters team has brought invaluable insights to help guide our research directions towards impactful findings on optimal reading formats,” said Dr. Zoya Bylinskii, a research scientist with Adobe. “We look forward to continuing to learn from each other,” Zoya said.

Liquid Mode makes it easier to read documents using concepts coined by Marjorie and Kathy. New reading settings were developed in partnership with Readability Matters and the University of Central Florida after joint exploration and discovery of how text personalization can discover improved readability for readers of all ages and skill levels.

“We know even subtle changes to text format can create dramatic changes in reading speed, accuracy, and comprehension,” said Kathy. “Studies have also shown that better readers are more confident and have more educational, career, and life opportunities,” Kathy said.

The most cost-efficient way to deliver higher reading performance is expanding on the existing infrastructure considering its complementary relationship to other solutions. Readability Matters aims to expand the availability of personalized reading formats by working with partners and existing technologies like Acrobat Reader to build a movement that brings better reading ultimately.

“Coming from a tech business background, we created Readability Matters to help adults and children be the best readers that they can be,” Marjorie said. “Our partnership with Adobe is a huge step towards achieving that goal, and we’re looking forward to expanding collaboration with additional partners to advance this universal mission of Readability for All,” said Marjorie.

For more information regarding Readability Matters, visit: ReadabilityMatters.org or for more on the Adobe partnership, visit: https://blog.adobe.com/en/2020/10/20/democratizing-digital-literacy-readability-research-unveiled-at-max.html