[Athen] Accessible font

[Andrea L. Dietrich]

For fonts I'm fond of the Noto Fonts from Google. Free, open source, and easily readable. And they have a good distinction between a lot of the easily confused letters and numbers and such. https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Noto+Sans?preview.text=&preview.text_type=custom

-Andi :)

From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of Kate Deibel
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2020 3:30 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Accessible font

100% agree with Steve. And it gets more complicated by what do you mean regarding a presentation? Are we talking about looking at the file itself? Presented online? Presented live in a large venue like a conference hall? A smaller venue like a classroom? What's the lighting scenario?

All of these are factors to consider. Generally, I go by the following rules and advice:



  *   Avoid thin fonts. Just always say no to those.



  *   For every study, article, claim, etc. that you'll find arguing sans-serif or serif is better, you'll find another that says the opposite.



  *   No to fancy, styled fonts. No script-style, Papyrus, graffiti, etc.



  *   Keep the number of fonts to a minimum.



  *   Regarding size, never drop below the 20pt unless you sharing the slides later. Then, you can put items such as sources, links, etc. in smaller fonts.



  *   There is such a thing as too big of fonts too, but this happens more with larger projections. Think of it as being akin to being in the front row of a movie theater.



  *   No to blinking text.



  *   Try to follow contrast recommendations but don't necessarily push for the maximum.



  *   If presenting live, ask about the expected lighting levels. If in a brighter room, go for light background, darker text. If in a darked room, use a darker background with lighter text. The whole idea is that you're trying to reflect what the surroundings are. Less adjustment.

As for actual font choices, I tend to go with the Franklin Gothic as my default. Good thickness, distinct letters. None of the problems of numbers and letters not being in aligned. Others I recommend:



  *   Comic Sans (I'm 100% serious! It's quite readable)
  *   Verdana
  *   Rockwell
  *   Tahoma
  *   Lucida

I've become more iffy on supporting direct Times New Roman and Helvetica clones for presentations. More of a gut thing, so not a no-no.

Katherine (Kate) Deibel | PhD
Inclusion & Accessibility Librarian
Syracuse University Libraries
T 315.443.7178
kndeibel at syr.edu<mailto:kndeibel at syr.edu>
222 Waverly Ave., Syracuse, NY 13244
Syracuse University

From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu>> On Behalf Of Kluesner, Bryon
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2020 2:02 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Accessible font

Thank you. This is most helpful.

Bryon


From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu>> On Behalf Of Noble,Stephen L.
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2020 1:36 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Accessible font

Here are a few resources and guidelines you may find helpful:
https://aphaccessibility.com/checklist-for-power-point-presentations/
https://www.aph.org/aph-guidelines-for-print-document-design/
https://www.superarladislexia.org/pdf/2017-Luz%20Rello-UAIS_How%20to%20present%20text.pdf
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.900.2679&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Of course, the question of font characteristics which impact accessibility is complicated by the fact that different disability populations have different needs. The same font that works well for a given low-vision user may not be a good match for someone with dyslexia, or even another low-vision user with different needs for that matter. That is why many web sites and eBook readers allow the user to change a number of font characteristics.

--Steve Noble
steve.noble at louisville.edu<mailto:steve.noble at louisville.edu>
502-969-3088

________________________________
From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu>> on behalf of Kluesner, Bryon <Bryon-Kluesner at utc.edu<mailto:Bryon-Kluesner at utc.edu>>
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2020 10:58 AM
To: 'athen-list at u.washington.edu' <athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: [Athen] Accessible font


Hi all and Happy Friday, September 18, 2020!



Does anyone have any research, articles you would mind sharing about what font(s) is the most accessible to use with Power Point presentations?



Thanks,



Bryon



Bryon Kluesner RhD, ATACP

Adaptive Technology Coordinator

Disability Resource Center

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

615 McCallie Ave., Dept. 2953

Chattanooga, TN 37403

423-425-5251



Member of Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs<https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.utc.edu%2Fenrollment-management-student-affairs%2F&data=02%7C01%7Csteve.noble%40louisville.edu%7C311592b9edc2497a8e5f08d85be38a2a%7Cdd246e4a54344e158ae391ad9797b209%7C0%7C0%7C637360380127530053&sdata=7K%2F%2FxodGxfVq2Nuh%2BdYkeuVoe85U8Eet17AjfB%2F2u3c%3D&reserved=0>


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