Comments on: Does W3C Get Its Contrasts Wrong?

By: Black Widow

Black Widow — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 12:55:04 +0000

I have absolutely no idea but the feedback I’m hearing suggests that a number of designers have been using the Hewlett Packard thresholds for some time – yet have not received any complaints with regard to lower contrasts.

By: Gill Lucraft

Gill Lucraft — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 12:46:32 +0000

I have to agree with this. I’ve spent the last week trying to comply with WCAG contrast and brightness which is not a problem but as soon as you add luminosity you’re either completely restricted colour wise or you get a headache. Have they actually tested their recommendations?

By: Mike Cherim

Mike Cherim — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 18:06:19 +0000

Outstanding observation, Mel. I cannot comment on the technical merits of your argument, but from a purely subjective point of view I’d certainly have to agree. I have neither poor vision or dyslexia, but I do find a somewhat subdued level of contrast much easier on the eyes and it makes the reading easier and more enjoyable for me, especially with a screen presentation. Based on these personal preferences I typically publish a darkish gray text on an slightly off-white background which is slightly non-compliant.

Mike

By: Jermayn Parker

Jermayn Parker — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 02:49:55 +0000

On your test page example I personally found that the second example “Yellow Background: Compliant” was the worst of the three as it hurt my eyes when reading it. The other two examples were better as they were not as sharp and easier on my eyes.

By: Pat Rees

Pat Rees — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 01:38:00 +0000

Another very important issue with high contrast text, such as black on pure white, is that text letters will break up when enlarged with low vision technologies such as ZoomText. An ever so slightly less white background, such as #FDFDFD, will reduce the way text is pixelated and thus made more readable in assistive technologies like ZoomText. With high contrast, letters lose their rounded edges and become unrecognizable in ZoomText. Even though a color and background meet the acceptable range, it does not guarantee that the combination will be readable when used with ZoomText. I found that I had to Zoom test each of my color combinations to make sure it would work, but overall the higher the contrast the more likely it would break up.

By: Spider Trax » More On Dyslexia

Spider Trax » More On Dyslexia — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 18:09:56 +0000

[...] A number of questions were raised following Does W3C Get Its Contrasts Wrong?. The following was orginally posted as a comment follow-up, but, since it’s rather long, I’ve re-posted it here. [...]

By: Isofarro

Isofarro — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 16:20:22 +0000

Mel, thanks for an awesome and comprehensive answer! I’d suggest lifting that comment out into an article by itself, its chockfull of useful and insightful information.

Thanks,
Mike

By: Spider Trax » An Alternative Colour Contrast Analyser

Spider Trax » An Alternative Colour Contrast Analyser — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 15:00:56 +0000

[...] Following my comments in Does W3C Get Its Contrasts Wrong?, I decided to develop an alternative colour contrast analyser that took into account some of the points I’d raised. [...]

By: Black Widow

Black Widow — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 12:28:34 +0000

Mike: Good points which I've now hopefully discussed further in More On Dyslexia

By: Black Widow

Black Widow — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 11:25:08 +0000

Joe: Yes – you’re absolutely correct!

James: My apologies. I don’t have a problem with punctuation but my fingers are dyslexic (in other words, I’m a lousy typist and an even worse proof reader).