Creating accessible content: typography

Audience: Students, Faculty, Staff, Affiliates

Responsible Group: IT Training and Outreach

Overview

Accessible font choices ensure text is readable by everyone, including people with low vision, dyslexia, or those using assistive technologies. Good typography also supports mobile-first design and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) by improving clarity, reducing cognitive load, and helping all learners succeed.

Why it matters

Typography impacts whether information can be perceived and understood. Inaccessible font choices create barriers for people with visual, cognitive, or reading differences and slow down everyone else.

Best practices

• Meet minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text (18 pt+ or 14 pt bold).
• Ensure content remains usable at 200% zoom without loss of information or functionality.
• Provide sufficient whitespace around text blocks and headings.
• Avoid blinking, flashing, or moving text. Prefer static, readable content.
• Limit line length to ~45–90 characters for comfortable reading.
• Verify readability in dark mode and grayscale where applicable.

Compliance standards

• WCAG 2.2 Success Criteria:
  • 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)
  • 1.4.4 Resize Text
  • 1.4.8 Visual Presentation (advisory for finer control)
  • 1.4.12 Text Spacing
• Section 508 (U.S.): Requires accessible electronic content and documents.

How to make it accessible

Microsoft Word / Outlook / PowerPoint

• Set body text to a readable sans-serif (e.g., Arial 12–14 pt minimum; slides 18–24 pt+).
• Use Styles for headings and body. Avoid manual formatting.
• Run Review → Check Accessibility and address issues.
• Before exporting to PDF, resolve issues and specify document structure tags.

SharePoint / Teams / Web

• Choose site/theme fonts with strong contrast; avoid light gray body text.
• Test at mobile widths and at 200% zoom to ensure reflow and readability.
• Check color contrast for text/links and visited states.

Excel

• Use at least 11–12 pt for grid-heavy content and increase header sizes.
• Do not rely on color alone in conditional formatting; add icons or text.
• Use cell styles (e.g., Heading, Title) to create hierarchy.

Applying accessibility standards

1. Plan typography: Select 1–2 accessible fonts and define sizes for headings/body.
2. Build with styles: Apply Heading 1/2/3 and Normal consistently.
3. Check contrast: Verify 4.5:1 (3:1 for large text) across backgrounds (including dark mode).
4. Test reflow/zoom: Confirm readability at 200% and on small screens.
5. Validate: Run the Microsoft Accessibility Checker and resolve remaining issues.
6. Export carefully: Fix issues before creating PDFs; include tags and bookmarks.

Quick review checklist