University of Reading - Information made simple

A new centre at the University of Reading aims to improve the clarity of information the public receives in documents about issues such as tax, benefits, pensions, insurance and health. The Simplification Centre will draw on the research expertise across disciplines, including information design, typography, psychology, linguistics and economics. Sue Walker, the dean of the faculty of arts and humanities, said: "A large proportion of the population struggles with functional literacy, and that is very often because things are unnecessarily complicated ... Simplification goes beyond plain English and looks at wider issues such as complexity of content and the capabilities or preferences of users."