Typography for Accessibility: Readable by Design

Accessible typography enables more people to read, comprehend, and act. This article distills WCAG‑aligned practices that improve real‑world readability without sacrificing brand.

Core Text Settings

• Font size: Minimum 16px for body; 14px only with generous spacing and short labels.
• Line height: 1.4–1.8 for paragraphs; 1.2–1.4 for headings.
• Measure (line length): 45–75 characters per line on desktop; 35–60 on mobile.
• Letter spacing: Slight positive tracking (0–0.02em) improves small text clarity.
• Weights: 400–500 for body; 600–700 for headings. Avoid ultra‑light at small sizes.

Contrast and Color

• Target AA: 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text (≥24px regular or ≥18.66px bold).
• Don’t rely on color alone to convey meaning; pair with icons or text.

Motion and Variable Fonts

• Respect prefers-reduced-motion: disable animated axis transitions.
• Avoid animating metrics on paragraphs (wdth, opsz) to prevent reflow.

OpenType Features That Help

• Tabular numbers for data tables: stable alignment.
• Case‑sensitive forms for labels with all‑caps.
• Contextual alternates and standard ligatures for smoother reading.

.table { font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; }
.label { font-variant-caps: all-small-caps; }

Language and Glyph Coverage

• Choose families with complete coverage for your locales.
• Provide fallbacks with compatible metrics to avoid jarring swaps.

Usability Checks

• Zoom to 200% and verify layout integrity.
• Test on low‑contrast and glare conditions.
• Validate with screen readers: headings hierarchy, landmark roles, and focus order.

Conclusion

Accessible typography is mostly about good defaults: adequate size, spacing, contrast, and predictable behavior. Bake these into your design system so every screen benefits.

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