Built for every kind of reader
LOOD is designed with readers who have ADHD, autism, dyslexia, low vision or tired eyes in mind. Here is exactly how it works, so you can decide if it suits you.
The slide
One size, start to finish.
Pick your text size and every slide of the book keeps it. LOOD never shrinks a slide to fit more words in.
The same starting spot.
The words on every slide begin in the same place, so your eyes know where to go without searching.
A few words at a time.
A book is split into short slides, so there is never a wall of text. Splits fall at natural pauses in the sentence.
Left aligned, no hyphens.
Lines are never justified, so the spaces between words stay even. A word is only broken when it is too long to fit on one line.
Nothing moves near the words
unless you ask it to.
Letters
Clear sans
is Atkinson Hyperlegible Next, made by the Braille Institute so letters that are easy to mix up, like b and d or I, l and 1, look clearly different.
LOOD’s pick.
Each LOOD Edition has its own typeface, chosen to suit the book. You can always switch to Clear sans under Comfort.
What we leave out:
thin hairline strokes and very high contrast type, which flicker and blur for many readers.
Spacing
Add space between lines, letters and words in three steps, Standard, Roomy and Roomier, until the page feels right.
Colour and contrast
Four moods.
Calm (soft colour, nothing moves), Nature (forest colours, one per chapter), LOOD, and Dada (loud colour, clear words).
Day or night,
whichever suits you.
Strong contrast:
pure black and white, nothing behind the words. It switches on by itself if your phone asks for more contrast.
Movement and pictures
Calm and Pictures: Plain give you a page that is only words. LOOD follows your phone’s settings for less motion and less transparency. Celebrations stay still when motion is reduced.
Not keen on spiders? Under Comfort, Small creatures can be Moths only.
Know what you’re starting
Reading level.
Every LOOD Edition shows how easy it is to start, from 1 (easy going for anyone) to 6 (hard going for everyone at first), on the Council of Europe’s six reading levels, A1 to C2. It looks only at the language: old words, dialect, long sentences, verse and how the story is told. You’ll see it as a band at the top of each spine and in words in the book’s details.
Reading time, kindly.
“About three evenings”, or bus rides, or tea breaks: tap to choose. The exact word count is there too, if you like numbers.
Notes before you begin.
Books with mature content say what’s ahead in their details and on the cover, so you choose what to read and when. They can wait on a private shelf.
Small doors in
A word of the day.
One word from LOOD’s books each day, with the line it comes from.
Lines of the day.
Quotations from the books change every day, so there is always something short to start with.
Picked for you.
A few books that belong together, and why, with something true to know about them.
Hear it
Listen reads the text aloud, and on most phones lights up each word as it is read. Free, no account.
Turning the page
One thumb turns every page: tap either side, or swipe. Or press Play: choose how many seconds each slide stays, and whether every slide gets exactly that long (Turtle) or short slides go quicker and long ones get a little longer (Rabbit). Tap anywhere to take over.
Rest your eyes
Comfort has a reminder of the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet (6 metres) away for 20 seconds, and blink.
No pressure
No streaks to lose, few numbers, and no reminders that nag. Reading time is said kindly (“About three evenings”), and finished books are celebrated.
Faithful texts
LOOD never changes a word, a comma or a capital. It only splits the text into slides.
Questions
- Is LOOD a dyslexia friendly reading app?
- Yes. Clear sans, adjustable spacing, left aligned lines with no hyphens, one steady text size and read aloud are all there by design.
- Does LOOD help with focus?
- It keeps the page small and still. A few words at a time, your place always kept, and nothing moving unless you want it to.
- Is it a speed reading app?
- Gently. Press Play and set a steady pace, or turn each slide yourself.
Got a suggestion for the LOOD development team?
An idea, a feature you’d like, something that didn’t work, or a book you’d love to see. It goes straight to the Librarian.
Or email ideas@lood.life.