Where Sans Forgetica came from
RMIT’s account describes an interdisciplinary project involving psychology, typography and Naked Communications. The design uses gaps and a backward slant to create a measured reading challenge, drawing on the idea of desirable difficulty.
The proposed mechanism is part of the project’s history, rather than a guarantee about every reader or study session. Read the linked university account for its original aims and keep those aims separate from later findings.
What the later experiments found
A 2020 paper by Geller, Davis and Peterson compared Sans Forgetica with other conditions across three preregistered experiments. It found no memory advantage in the tested word-pair, educational-passage and recognition tasks. Another 2020 study by Taylor and colleagues found equivalent performance or, in some conditions, worse performance despite increased perceived reading difficulty.
These results do not establish what happens in every conceivable task, but they do not support promising that switching to this font will improve recall. Difficulty that readers notice is different from evidence of a useful learning effect.
Compare a real reading task
If you are exploring the design, compare a short passage containing your actual vocabulary, punctuation and numbers. Record whether the text remains comfortable to read and whether the unusual shapes interfere with finding information. A visually memorable heading is not a measurement of retained knowledge.
For a neutral visual comparison, try Inter and Source Sans 3. These are independent families, not copies of Sans Forgetica or proven memory treatments. The reading-font guide offers a broader layout comparison.
Use the original distribution and its terms
Follow RMIT’s original project information for availability and usage details. Its impact case study describes a non-commercial distribution; a free resource should not automatically be labelled unrestricted commercial software. This guide does not supply the original font files.
Keep a readable version of important study information available when experimenting with unusual typography. Read typeface versus font and font file types to distinguish the design, its software resources and the text itself.
Your questions, answered.
Does Sans Forgetica improve memory?
Do not assume that it does. Later preregistered experiments found no memory advantage in the tested tasks, and another study found equivalent or sometimes worse performance. The original design goal is different from an established benefit.
Why are there gaps and a backward slant?
RMIT describes these as deliberate reading challenges developed around the idea of desirable difficulty. Making text feel harder to process does not itself prove that learning improves.
Are the comparison fonts versions of Sans Forgetica?
No. Inter and Source Sans 3 are separately designed families offered for a readable visual comparison.
Sources & background
Sources supporting this page’s explanations. Practical examples are our editorial suggestions.