There is a lot of conflicting information out there when it comes to the best text to background contrast ratio for optimal accessibility. Generally, higher contrast is better, of course, but for people with dyslexia, a too bright background (e.g. black text on white) can also appear dazzling and thus harder to read.
Do you know of any reliable and “quotable” resources on this topic?
","reblog":null,"application":{"name":"Web","website":null},"account":{"id":"7423","username":"matthiasott","acct":"matthiasott","display_name":"Matthias Ott","locked":false,"bot":false,"discoverable":true,"indexable":true,"group":false,"created_at":"2016-11-01T00:00:00.000Z","note":"Independent user experience designer and web design engineer, teacher, speaker. Interface Prototyping at Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design. UX and web design engineering workshops. #searchable 🇪🇺🌍
Newsletter: https://matthiasott.com/newsletter
https://matthiasott.com
For example, there is the German website leserlich.info (by the German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted), which is making the rounds a lot when agencies are looking for reliable advice. But it mentions black type on white background as the optimal solution, which isn’t the case, afaik…
","reblog":null,"application":{"name":"Web","website":null},"account":{"id":"7423","username":"matthiasott","acct":"matthiasott","display_name":"Matthias Ott","locked":false,"bot":false,"discoverable":true,"indexable":true,"group":false,"created_at":"2016-11-01T00:00:00.000Z","note":"Independent user experience designer and web design engineer, teacher, speaker. Interface Prototyping at Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design. UX and web design engineering workshops. #searchable 🇪🇺🌍
Newsletter: https://matthiasott.com/newsletter
https://matthiasott.com
This is one of the better sources I could find, by The British Dyslexia Association:
- Use dark coloured text on a light (not white) background
- Consider alternatives to white backgrounds for paper, computer and visual aids such as whiteboards. White can appear too dazzling.
Independent user experience designer and web design engineer, teacher, speaker. Interface Prototyping at Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design. UX and web design engineering workshops. #searchable 🇪🇺🌍
Newsletter: https://matthiasott.com/newsletter
https://matthiasott.com
@matthiasott love how their font makes 1.5 look like 15
","reblog":null,"account":{"id":"109298461916180708","username":"miunau","acct":"miunau@meow.social","display_name":"miunau","locked":false,"bot":false,"discoverable":true,"indexable":false,"group":false,"created_at":"2022-11-06T00:00:00.000Z","note":"I make music, music accessories, and other things! (he/him) 🏳️🌈
","url":"https://meow.social/@miunau","uri":"https://meow.social/users/miunau","avatar":"https://files.mastodon.social/cache/accounts/avatars/109/298/461/916/180/708/original/b6698f8a17fb52a2.jpg","avatar_static":"https://files.mastodon.social/cache/accounts/avatars/109/298/461/916/180/708/original/b6698f8a17fb52a2.jpg","avatar_description":"","header":"https://files.mastodon.social/cache/accounts/headers/109/298/461/916/180/708/original/d5bf2f79af70ee74.jpeg","header_static":"https://files.mastodon.social/cache/accounts/headers/109/298/461/916/180/708/original/d5bf2f79af70ee74.jpeg","header_description":"","followers_count":357,"following_count":341,"statuses_count":4854,"last_status_at":"2026-04-19","hide_collections":false,"show_media":true,"show_media_replies":true,"show_featured":true,"emojis":[],"fields":[{"name":"Website","value":"https://www.miunau.com","verified_at":null},{"name":"Bandcamp","value":"https://miunau.bandcamp.com","verified_at":"2026-04-19T17:29:49.057+00:00"},{"name":"Telegram (music posts)","value":"https://t.me/miunaumusic","verified_at":null}]},"media_attachments":[],"mentions":[{"id":"7423","username":"matthiasott","url":"https://mastodon.social/@matthiasott","acct":"matthiasott"}],"tags":[],"emojis":[],"tagged_collections":[],"quote":null,"card":null,"poll":null,"quote_approval":{"automatic":[],"manual":[],"current_user":"denied"}}],"descendants":[{"id":"111959261228371265","created_at":"2024-02-19T17:11:56.000Z","in_reply_to_id":"111959235964517039","in_reply_to_account_id":"7423","sensitive":false,"spoiler_text":"","visibility":"public","language":"en","uri":"https://meow.social/users/miunau/statuses/111959258968250563","url":"https://meow.social/@miunau/111959258968250563","replies_count":0,"reblogs_count":0,"favourites_count":1,"quotes_count":0,"edited_at":"2024-02-19T17:12:33.000Z","content":"@matthiasott feels like they took a print font and just used it on the web.. bit embarrassing for such an org
","reblog":null,"account":{"id":"109298461916180708","username":"miunau","acct":"miunau@meow.social","display_name":"miunau","locked":false,"bot":false,"discoverable":true,"indexable":false,"group":false,"created_at":"2022-11-06T00:00:00.000Z","note":"I make music, music accessories, and other things! (he/him) 🏳️🌈
","url":"https://meow.social/@miunau","uri":"https://meow.social/users/miunau","avatar":"https://files.mastodon.social/cache/accounts/avatars/109/298/461/916/180/708/original/b6698f8a17fb52a2.jpg","avatar_static":"https://files.mastodon.social/cache/accounts/avatars/109/298/461/916/180/708/original/b6698f8a17fb52a2.jpg","avatar_description":"","header":"https://files.mastodon.social/cache/accounts/headers/109/298/461/916/180/708/original/d5bf2f79af70ee74.jpeg","header_static":"https://files.mastodon.social/cache/accounts/headers/109/298/461/916/180/708/original/d5bf2f79af70ee74.jpeg","header_description":"","followers_count":357,"following_count":341,"statuses_count":4854,"last_status_at":"2026-04-19","hide_collections":false,"show_media":true,"show_media_replies":true,"show_featured":true,"emojis":[],"fields":[{"name":"Website","value":"https://www.miunau.com","verified_at":null},{"name":"Bandcamp","value":"https://miunau.bandcamp.com","verified_at":"2026-04-19T17:29:49.057+00:00"},{"name":"Telegram (music posts)","value":"https://t.me/miunaumusic","verified_at":null}]},"media_attachments":[],"mentions":[{"id":"7423","username":"matthiasott","url":"https://mastodon.social/@matthiasott","acct":"matthiasott"}],"tags":[],"emojis":[],"tagged_collections":[],"quote":null,"card":null,"poll":null,"quote_approval":{"automatic":[],"manual":[],"current_user":"denied"}}]}