Accessibility Guide: Color Use in Instructional Materials

This article demonstrates appropriate and inappropriate color use in course pages and instructional materials. Using color mindfully ensures accessibility for all students, including those with visual impairments or color blindness.

🎯 Why Color Use Matters 

• Supports readability and comprehension for all users. 

• Ensures accessibility for users with color vision deficiencies. 

• Promotes professional and consistent design aesthetics. 

• Complies with web accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG 2.1). 

✅ Appropriate Color Use 

Examples: 

• High contrast between text and background (e.g., black text on white background). 

• Use of dark text on light backgrounds and vice versa. 

• Colors used in combination with text labels, icons, or patterns (not color alone) to convey meaning. 

• Consistent color palette across pages for a cohesive experience. 

❌ Inappropriate Color Use 

Examples: 

• Using color as the only method to convey important information (e.g., 'items in red are required'). 

• Low contrast combinations such as light gray text on white or red text on green background. 

• Excessive or overly bright color usage that distracts from content. 

• Inconsistent use of color across course materials or pages. 

🎨 Best Practices for Using Color 

• Use a color contrast checker (e.g., WebAIM Contrast Checker) to ensure compliance. 

• Provide patterns or text labels in addition to color for charts, graphs, and alerts. 

• Stick to a limited color palette and test across devices. 

• Avoid red-green combinations, as they are most problematic for color blindness.