Requirements: Non-text Contrast

[alastc]

Guideline: Users have content that does not rely on a single sense or perception

Requirements:

• Icons or shapes which convey meaning provide contrast with adjacent areas.
• Indicators that controls are interactive have contrast.
• Indicators of focus, active, and selected states provide contrast.
• Contrasting lines to delineate areas, including gaps that show background color.
• Lines in diagrams and charts provide a minimum thickness
• Using patterns to differentiate as well as color
• Associated labels by location (i.e. next to the item being labeled).
• Associated labels by using an active legend (e.g. focus/hover on a label and it highlights the thing being labeled).
• Provide an alternative format (e.g. providing a text or tabular alternative).

Supplemental:

• Ensure all graphics which convey meaning have contrast, even if there is associated text (intersectional low-vis/coga need);
• Ensuring that interactive items with a background color or border have a contrasting background/border (could be user-agent or authored styles).
• Customizability of color scheme for diagrams/illustrations.

Links:

• Google Doc of Exploratory to Developing

[Myndex]

More than any other use case, the spatial characteristics of graphics directly drives contrast needs. The minimum contrast needed for a given element is dependent on it's size or thickness.