Applicability

Description

The objective of this technique is to show how using a graphical symbol to convey information can make content difficult to comprehend. A graphical symbol may be an image, an image of text or a pictorial or decorative character symbol (glyph) which imparts information nonverbally. Examples of graphical symbols include an image of a red circle with a line through it, a "smiley" face, or a glyph which represents a check mark, arrow, or other symbol but is not the character with that meaning. Assistive technology users may have difficulty determining the meaning of the graphical symbol. If a graphical symbol is used to convey information, provide an alternative using features of the technology or use a different mechanism that can be marked with an alternative to represent the graphical symbol. For example, an image with a text alternative can be used instead of the glyph.

Examples

Failure Example 1: Glyphs Used to Indicate Status

A shopping cart uses two simple glyphs to indicate whether an item is available for immediate shipment. A check mark indicates that the item is in stock and ready to ship. An "x" mark indicates that the item is currently on back order and not available for immediate shipment. An assistive technology user could not determine the status of the current item.

Resources

Related Techniques

Tests

Procedure

Check whether there are other means to determine the information
conveyed by the non-text marks.

Expected Results

If step #2 is false, then this failure condition applies and the
content fails this Success Criterion.

Techniques are Informative

Techniques are informative—that means they are not required. The basis for determining conformance to WCAG 2.0 is the success criteria from the WCAG 2.0 standard—not the techniques. For important information about techniques, please see the Understanding Techniques for WCAG Success Criteria section of Understanding WCAG 2.0.