Good design is not just about accessibility, it also enables your readers to focus on the content of the document. Well designed documents have a clear and consistent document structure and use appropriate typefaces to convey the desired information with thought given to the use of font styles, weight, size and colour.
What about fonts?
There is a bewildering array of fonts available nowadays for use in word processed and other electronic documents. However, the choice boils down broadly to serif fonts which have little extenders or feet at the ends of the letters and sans serif fonts which are plain.
What is important is that any font used should be clear and comfortable to read particularly for long bodies of text. Font styles which are familiar and in common use are often the easiest to read. Fonts which are more decorative, ornate or in a handwriting style are best avoided for the main body of a document.
Weight
Similarly, fonts are typically available in different weights including light, regular, bold and italic. Light and italic styles are often difficult for partially sighted people to read whereas bold is appropriate for applying emphasis to a word or a short phrase but should be used in moderation.
Font size
Consideration also needs to be given to the size of the fonts used in your document. Font size is dependant to some extent on the typeface chosen but RNIB Clear Print guidelines recommend that a clear font such as Arial be used at a minimum size of 12 point and preferably 14 point.
Graphics and colour
Many word processors have an automatic setting for colour. This acts as an accessibility feature by ensuring that a good contrast is always maintained between foreground and background colours. For example, high contrast display users may prefer to set a black background in which case black text would be automatically changed to white. Indeed, many partially sighted users prefer to set their own colour combinations for maximum reading comfort and accessibility.
Where important information needs to be conveyed by images, graphics or colour you might want to consider providing a text description in addition or some other alternative means of presenting or highlighting the information. For example, where specific font colours need to be used to emphasise text in a document a symbol such as an asterisk could be added for readers who don't access colour.
Summary pointers towards good design
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A clear and consistent document structure.
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Use of Regular type weight for normal body text.
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Body text set in a familiar font avoiding small type sizes (e.g. less than 12 point Arial).
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Text and images contrasting well against the background colour.
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An alternative provided where important information is conveyed by graphics or coloured text alone.
Further related information can be found on the Styling, Layout and Tables pages.