Accessible Printed Materials
You may also find the information on the Alternative Formats page useful.
Style
- Use short simple sentences.
- Avoid unnecessary jargon.
- Avoid dense blocks of text by using short paragraphs.
Fonts & Types
- Use sans serif fonts such as Arial or Comic Sans.
- Keep the font size to 12 points or more.
- Expand spacing between letters and lines.
- Use bold to highlight rather than underling or italics. Underlining makes words run together.
- Use lower case and only use capitals when necessary.
Layout of text
- Keep lines left justified with a ragged right edge.
- Use boxes or indented spacing to break up text.
- Use bullets or numbers rather than continuous prose.
- Use wider spacing between sentences and paragraphs.
- Do not begin sentences at the end of a line.
- Use wide margins and headings.
Presentation of Information
- Use coloured paper instead of white - cream or lemon preferred.
- Keep design simple. Background graphics are difficult to read.
- Avoid light text on a dark background
- Do not use a variety of fonts.
- Keep essential information grouped together e.g. event time and place.
- Matt paper reduces glare.
Alternative ideas for presenting information
- Flow charts are ideal for explaining procedures.
- Simple pictograms and graphics help to locate information.
- Lists of Do's and Don'ts are more useful than continuous text to highlight good practice.
- Provide a glossary of abbreviations and jargon.
- Include a contents page at the beginning and an index at the end.
Notice Boards
- White boards are easier to read when writing is in colour.
- Use print rather than joined writing on boards.
- Notice boards positioned at an angle are often easier to read.
Text-reading software (e.g. Kurzweil, Jaws, Zoomtext, SuperNova - all available on campus)
To enable text-reading software to be effective, paper documents which are scanned into a computer and web pages should -
- Have full stops after headings.
- Numbered bullet points.
- No words in capital letters.
- As few signs as possible, especially no brackets or slashes.
