Tool uses color gradients to improve reading speed

BeeLine Reader is a plugin that can improve reading speed, simply by introducing color gradients that guide the eye easily across the page.

The human eye is able to process colour and images significantly faster than it can lines of words. We have already seen Spritz — a text-streaming platfrom that enables speedier reading by removing the scanning process — and Read Good, which introduces visual cues to websites and ebooks. Now, BeeLine Reader is a plugin that can improve reading speed by up to 50 percent, simply by introducing color gradients that guide the eye easily across the page.

To begin, users can take a test to see how effective it will be for them — 15,000 people have already tested the tool and 85 percent found that it helped them increase their reading speed. They can then download the BeeLine Reader to their browser and choose the color scheme that best suits them — there are blue to red gradients of various brightnesses as well as grey-scale options. The gradients provide contrast between the beginning and the end of each line to guide the eye across the page and minimize so-called line transition errors — accidentally skipping or repeating lines.

The tool is particularly useful for those with dyslexia, ADD or vision difficulties, but can be used by anyone. It is also compatible with Amazon and OverDrive ebooks. How else could online text be adapted for different purposes or reading styles?