Colour blindness (colour vision deficiency, or CVD) is a condition that affects around 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women worldwide, making it one of the most common types of visual impairment. People with this condition are unable to distinguish certain colours, usually red and green or blue and yellow, as well as their combinations. As a result, they may struggle to see certain details, especially when it comes to online experiences such as websites and apps.
WebAIM's 2023 report on the accessibility of the top 1,000,000 home pages found that low contrast text, below the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2 AA thresholds, was the most commonly-detected accessibility issue, found on 83.6% of home pages. Low contrast text can make it difficult for people with colour blindness to read and understand the content on a website. When text and background colours have insufficient contrast, it can be challenging for people with certain types of colour vision deficiencies to distinguish between the two.
For example, someone with red-green colour blindness may have difficulty reading text that is displayed in red on a green background, as these colours appear very similar to them. Similarly, someone with blue-yellow colour blindness may struggle to read text that is displayed in yellow on a blue background.
The WCAG guidelines for low contrast text help to address these issues by specifying a minimum contrast ratio between text and background colours. This ensures that the text is legible for all users, regardless of their visual abilities. By following these guidelines, website designers and developers can make their content more accessible to people with colour blindness and other types of visual impairments.
In addition to the WCAG guidelines, there are other design practices that can help to make digital content more accessible to people with colour blindness. For example, avoiding the use of colour alone to convey information and providing alternative text descriptions for non-text content can also improve the accessibility of digital content for people with visual impairments.
The impact of colour blindness on digital experiences is further exacerbated by the increasing reliance on visual content and design in the digital world. From charts and graphs to infographics and images, visual information is often used to convey complex information quickly and easily. However, for people with colour blindness, this information may be difficult to interpret accurately.
In conclusion, colour blindness is a common condition that can have a significant impact on how people experience digital platforms, especially when it comes to online content that relies on colour to convey information. To make digital experiences more inclusive and accessible, it is essential to follow the WCAG guidelines for low contrast text and other accessibility requirements. By doing so, we can help to ensure that everyone can participate fully in the digital world, regardless of their visual abilities.
