Although quite an ‘old technology’ the ubiquitous nature of PowerPoint Presentations means that thoughtful design from an accessibility perspective can greatly enhance the student experience of subject content. Here’s a list of easy to utilise hints and tips that will help improve the accessibility of your presentations.
Font
Sans Serif fonts should be used for text and headings. Below are a few examples:
- Arial
- Verdana
- Tahoma
- Century Gothic
- Calibri
Font Size
- Headings 32 points or larger
- Subheadings 30 points or larger
- Text 24 – 28 points or larger
To Enhance Text
- Bold text
- Underline
- Quotations
- Sufficient white space
Backgrounds & Text
- Every slide should have a unique title
- Slide Layout should be simple – minimise bullets, try not to use columns
- Use simple table structure – specify column header, don’t contain merged/split cells, nested tables
- Use high contrast colour schemes
- Keep it simple, preferably one colour or two colour gradients:
- white and pastel
- two pastel colours which are adjacent on the colour wheel
- Avoid grey background or grey text
- Avoid shadowed text
- Avoid blue backgrounds
- Use built-in slide designs for inclusive reading order
Animations & Graphics
- Images, tables, graphs and data visualisations are not accessible with screen readers. Add an alternative text to each visual
- Avoid excess animation, flashing images, strobing or rapidly moving images
- Limit animations – preferably no animations or transitions as screen readers do not read these
- Avoid low contrast and grey scale graphics
- If adding a narrated voice to each slide, turn off automatic transitioning
Other General Accessibility Best Practices
- If a PDF format is required for students, save the PPT to an accessible PDF
- Create PowerPoint in outline view. Outline view displays what is read by a screen reader
- Hyperlinks should be meaningful – name or briefly describe link destination
- Check external content for accessibility
- Provide audio transcription – could be provided in notes section
- Use the built-in accessibility checker in Microsoft Office products
- For additional accessibility checking, use a screen reader
