Basic Accessibility Guidelines for Text

Digital Text

To keep things easy, you can just use the default system fonts on most interfaces. The operating system or application will determine the typeface:

• Helvetica (Mac OS, iOS)

• Arial (Windows OS, Most Google Suite Products)

• Roboto (Chrome OS, Android OS)

• Aptos (Microsoft Office Products)

• Lato (D2L, Google Sites)

Other than these fonts, you should stick to Sans Serif fonts as they are recommended by various accessibility resources. Some examples of Sans Serif fonts (excluding the ones above) include: 

• Tahoma

• Trebuchet MS

• Verdana

• Calibri

• Candara

• Corbel

• Franklin Gothic

• Libre Franklin

Slab serif fonts such as Arvo, Museo Slab and Rockwell are also considered to be accessible and are often used as headings or titles.

Printed Text

Font

• Use a sans-serif and monospaced font for body text. Here are some common examples: 

  • • • Courier Prime Sans (AKA Courier Prime)

      • IBM Plex Mono

      • Source Code Pro

      • Any Sans Mono font (e.g. Noto Sans Mono, Spline Sans Mono, Ubuntu Sans Mono)

      • Ubuntu Mono

      • Sometype Mono

      • Fira Mono

• Use decorative faces sparingly. Avoid condensed fonts.

• Use no more than 2 types of font on a page.

• Text size should be 12 pt minimum and 14 pt whenever possible. (Large print material should be 18 pt.)

• Use bold to highlight a section of text. Avoid italics and sentences in all caps.

Text Layout

• Avoid lines of text longer than 6 inches.

• Column spacing should be at least 0.5” between columns.

• Line spacing should be at least 1.25.

• Avoid centered or justified body text.

• Avoid hyphenations to break up words at the end of lines.

• Organize information with headers and sections.

Background

• Avoid busy patterns or images behind text.

• Use off-white, non-glossy, matte paper to reduce glare.

• Print two-sided documents on heavier paper so that content is not visible through the other side.

• Provide free alternative formats for those where the printed version isn’t accessible