Características anatômicas tipográficas e sua influência no reconhecimento da letra: estudo dos materiais didáticos para a terceira idade na UNITI/UFMA

Abstract

Considering the current population aging process and the needs of projects that dialogue with the elderly public, it was noticed that in the field of design knowledge, there is little research and discussion that addresses design, old age and education. This research analyzed the use of typography in teaching materials used in the teaching of the elderly. It consists of a case study at the University of the Third Age - UNITI / UFMA. The research was carried out in five stages: in the first, the socioeconomic profile and the visual problems that affect the students were identified. The Snellen test was also carried out to understand their degree of visual acuity. In the second stage, 7 graphic artifacts used in teaching were collected and analyzed. To catalog the types most present in these materials, after analysis, they were divided into three typographic groups: Serif, Sans Serif and Manuscripts. The third step was the reading test, in which the types were applied to texts of a cultural nature, with the aim of ranking them by the average time and by the preference of the students. The fourth stage was the definition and production of 4 typographic games. In addition, two pre-tests were carried out, one at UNITI / UFMA and one at ADSA / Aveiro - Portugal. The fifth, and last stage, was the realization of typographic games with UNITI / UFMA students. 45 students from the institution participated in the experiment. The main results showed that the typography that best suits the students of the third age is the one that has the uniform line or with light / medium contrast and are between Serifados or Sem Serifa types. They must also have large openings, great ascending and descending; and large height-x; it was also found that analogous letters (u, n, b, q, p, d) and narrow letters (l, i, j, t, f) need elements that differentiate them, as well as the letters g, see need have their designs similar to the most usual models of these letters. It was observed that the typography suitable for the elderly should at first contemplate students with less education, as they had greater difficulties in recognizing the characters, demonstrating that there is a relationship between the identification of the letter and the individual's repertoire. Finally, typographic recommendations are made that can improve the teaching materials used in teaching seniors.