10.9 Use of Color for Accessibility

To convey meaning, bold or italics should always be used instead of color. Do not use red to indicate importance, do not highlight in yellow to draw attention. Use accessible text formatting features.

Points: 3 (Essential)

QM Alignment: 8.2, 8.3

Overview

Color and styling of text (font, size, bold/italics) is primarily used to convey visual information. Avoid solely using color and styling to convey meaning. Instead, or in addition to that, use semantic text features such as headers to make your text accessible to screen readers.

Tips

• Text and color contrast should be at least 4.5:1
• Use logically ordered semantic headers to section content
• It is recommended to use sans-serif fonts to enhance readability

Resources

• Canvas Accessibility Checklist
• Canvas Accessibility Checker
• Blackboard Ally