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What are your thoughts on gray text on white or gray backgrounds.

By Gordon LaGrow posted 04-13-2015 08:06

  
I find these hard to read, more and more web sites are using this and I can't figure out why, there is little contrast.  As we get older (I'm 63) it gets tougher to see. Look at the tiny gray font and size above.  Would you call that accessible?
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https://accessibilityassociation.connectedcommunity.org/blogs/gordon-lagrow/2015/04/13/gray-text

Comments

Adina Halter
09-10-2015 15:45

Wow George, 98! Fantastic!
It's imperative for sites to test their colors for contrast. For a WCAG AA rating you need a color contrast ratio of 4.5 : 1 for normal text.
Developers need to make sure to test their foreground and background colors using tools such as this one from WebAIM: http://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
And don't forget about text against gradated backgrounds. Check the foreground/background hex numbers with the least contrast.

Valorie Sundby
06-29-2015 17:35

As a member of the club, I can relate to the frustrations of poor contrast. Working as a consultant in a company which gravitates to the trend of low contrast has been a challenge. A young developer made a comment to me regarding contrast: What about those of us with young eyes? The strong contrast hurts. I pointed out the ability everyone has to lower the luminosity of their screen but that a bright screen does not necessarily compensate for low contrast. The point brought up by the developer was not one I would have thought of as a problem but there is an easy solution for it.
It is an interesting trend which was written about quite extensively in the article Low-Contrast Text Is Not the Answer by Katie Sherwin on June 7, 2015 at http://www.nngroup.com/articles/low-contrast/.
Thanks for the discussion.
Valorie Sundby

George Mueden
04-22-2015 06:20

Welcome to the club. Poor contrast sensitivity comes with age, but some have it much earlier. Because of it I gave up newspapers and magazines at about 85. Now at 98, I have My CCTV and computer set to display in high contrast, white or yellow on a black background.
This presents some problems, like "invisible info"; Morningstar's stock grading stars are black against a black background and are not tagged so as to respond to mousing, invisible. I have appealed to the DOJ using their new form, and am waiting for a reply.
Until just yesterday PDF files all appeared on my screen as black copy on a white background. The white glare blinded me to the copy. By going into Reader the preferences are now set to follow my Windows settings and it seems to work.
This sensitivity to glare that goes along with contrast sensitivity makes graphics a hazard. They blind me to nearby copy, making me wish for a way to suppress them. How graphs will appear with my new preferences, I have yet to see.
The Nat'l Eye Institute has not replied to my request for the appropriate distribution statistics needed to press for regulatory help.
George Mueden