Colour has not been solely used as the only visual means of conveying information

Design Notes

Don’t only rely on colour to convey information

Colour should not be used as the only method of conveying information as blind and partially sighted people may struggle to understand information presented in this way. To communicate with people who cannot see well or distinguish colours, provide an additional cue

• provide text in addition to colour changes
• use multiple visual cues such as patterns, strokes and emboldening of text

For example, using labels or distinctive patterns (e.g. hatching) helps to distinguish different areas on graphs.

Not relying on colour vision helps users who: are colour blind, need to over-ride default colours or have difficulty seeing the difference between colours — for example are viewing content in bright sunlight.

More information

• Improving The Color Accessibility For Color-Blind Users
• Colour blindness simulator and design aid — Automatically identify potential colour issues as you design, using your favourite day-to-day software. Works with Figma, Sketch and Adobe XD.
• Tool: Colour Oracle — Free tool to simulate colour blindness

Developer Notes

Reliant on design influence.

Testing Notes

Steps to Check

Identify if there is content which visually appears to provide information through colour (changing colour to indicate an action or provide any other information) and ensure the information is indicated using other methods.

WCAG Reference: Understanding Success Criterion 1.4.1 Use of Colour