Fonts for Web Accessibility: 3 Expert Tips
1.6K views · 2024-04-02
TypographyInteraction & UX
Watch the full conversation: https://youtu.be/oaj7aItkj14
Type designer Eleni Beveratou shares three tips how to choose an accessible typeface.
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💌 https://pmty.pe/newsletter
Still confused? Book a coaching call:
🗣️ http://pmty.pe/coaching
Tip 1: Know when it’s about legibility or readability
You can and should still do expressive and interesting things with type, but you show know when it’s appropriate. With documents, tokens or a password, legibility (clear character recognition) is crucial. In other cases, like with a logo or a headline, context will often fill in the gaps.
Tip 2: Look for open letter shapes
Even though it is often recommended, Arial is horrible for accessibility, because its letters are very closed. Open letter shapes (look at the c, e, s) are better when it comes to smaller sizes and still work when things are blurred.
Tip 3: Simplicity does not equal accessibility
A mistake Eleni made, because the simpler the shapes, the less distinct they are. Especially a double story “a” can help to create more distinct words and hence increase readability. Change between letters helps recognition.
Bonus tips
It’s helpful if your “l” has a little tail (legibility) and narrow characters (like “f” or “t”) are a bit wider.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:36 Tip 1
02:42 Tip 2
03:54 Tip 3
05:10 Bonus Tips
#accessibility #wcag #typography
Type designer Eleni Beveratou shares three tips how to choose an accessible typeface.
Sign up to the Font Friday newsletter:
💌 https://pmty.pe/newsletter
Still confused? Book a coaching call:
🗣️ http://pmty.pe/coaching
Tip 1: Know when it’s about legibility or readability
You can and should still do expressive and interesting things with type, but you show know when it’s appropriate. With documents, tokens or a password, legibility (clear character recognition) is crucial. In other cases, like with a logo or a headline, context will often fill in the gaps.
Tip 2: Look for open letter shapes
Even though it is often recommended, Arial is horrible for accessibility, because its letters are very closed. Open letter shapes (look at the c, e, s) are better when it comes to smaller sizes and still work when things are blurred.
Tip 3: Simplicity does not equal accessibility
A mistake Eleni made, because the simpler the shapes, the less distinct they are. Especially a double story “a” can help to create more distinct words and hence increase readability. Change between letters helps recognition.
Bonus tips
It’s helpful if your “l” has a little tail (legibility) and narrow characters (like “f” or “t”) are a bit wider.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:36 Tip 1
02:42 Tip 2
03:54 Tip 3
05:10 Bonus Tips
#accessibility #wcag #typography