Fonts and Typography Typography Accessibility and Readability 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What line-height value is generally recommended for accessible body text?
- 1.5 or 150% of the font size (Correct answer)
- 1.0 (same as the font size)
- 0.8 (tighter than the font size)
- 3.0 (triple the font size)
Correct answer: 1.5 or 150% of the font size
A line-height of 1.5 (150% of the font size) is recommended by WCAG as a starting point for comfortable, accessible body text reading.
Question 2: What is 'color blindness safe' typography?
- Typography that conveys information through more than color alone (Correct answer)
- Typography that uses only grayscale colors
- Typography that automatically adapts colors per user preference
- Typography using only blue and yellow colors
Correct answer: Typography that conveys information through more than color alone
Color blindness safe typography ensures that color is never the sole means of conveying information — text weight, icons, or labels provide additional visual cues.
Question 3: What does the ARIA `aria-label` attribute do in relation to typography accessibility?
- Provides an accessible text description for screen readers when visual text is unclear or absent (Correct answer)
- Changes the font displayed by screen readers
- Sets the language of the text for translation tools
- Adjusts the font size for assistive technologies
Correct answer: Provides an accessible text description for screen readers when visual text is unclear or absent
`aria-label` provides an accessible name read by screen readers, which is important when visual typography (like icon fonts or decorative text) does not convey meaning to non-visual users.
Question 4: Why should all-caps text be used sparingly for body copy in accessible design?
- All-caps text reduces word shape recognition and slows reading speed for many users (Correct answer)
- All-caps text cannot be resized in browsers
- All-caps text always fails WCAG contrast requirements
- All-caps text disables screen reader pronunciation
Correct answer: All-caps text reduces word shape recognition and slows reading speed for many users
All-caps text eliminates the distinctive word shapes (ascenders and descenders) that readers use to quickly recognize words, significantly slowing reading speed, especially for users with dyslexia.
Question 5: What is the benefit of using actual text over text embedded in images for accessibility?
- Real text is readable by screen readers, searchable, and resizable without quality loss (Correct answer)
- Image text loads faster than font files
- Image text is more visually consistent across browsers
- Real text cannot be styled with CSS effects
Correct answer: Real text is readable by screen readers, searchable, and resizable without quality loss
Real HTML text is readable by screen readers, indexed by search engines, and scales without pixelation, while text embedded in images is invisible to assistive technologies and search bots.
Question 6: What is the purpose of the HTML `lang` attribute in typographic accessibility?
- It tells browsers and screen readers the language so correct fonts and pronunciation rules are applied (Correct answer)
- It translates the page automatically into the specified language
- It sets the character encoding for special glyphs
- It specifies the reading direction of the text
Correct answer: It tells browsers and screen readers the language so correct fonts and pronunciation rules are applied
The `lang` attribute tells browsers which language the text is in, enabling correct font selection for that script, proper hyphenation, and accurate screen reader pronunciation.
Fonts and Typography Typography Accessibility and Readability 2
What line-height value is generally recommended for accessible body text?