Re: Font accessibility

Wayne,
that is not too much information (TMI)! please do provide that feedback to 
the top 4 browsers so they can include the extension as a native feature, 
instead of yet another extension to install and be maintained by the user: 
 

        Google Chrome at 
https://www.google.com/accessibility/get-in-touch.htm
        Microsoft Edge at 
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/accessibility
        Mozilla Firefox at   
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Accessibility 
        Apple Safari at https://www.apple.com/feedback/safari.html

and also make sure NVDA, ZoomText, JAWS, etc. support role='img', I'm not 
sure that is the case today.
___________
Regards,
Phill Jenkins
Check out the new system for requesting an IBM product Accessibility 
Conformance Report VPAT® at  able.ibm.com/request
pjenkins@us.ibm.com
Senior Engineer & Accessibility Executive
IBM Research Accessibility



From:   Wayne Dick <wayneedick@gmail.com>
To:     info@karlencommunications.com
Cc:     Jonathan Avila <jon.avila@levelaccess.com>, 
gian@accessibilityoz.com, W3C WAI ig <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Date:   06/22/2018 03:29 PM
Subject:        Re: Font accessibility



Hi Again,
I would like to reinforce Jon's observation. Legibility is an 
accessibility issue because it is completely defined by perception, one 
of  POUR. 

I really think choice is the key issue. Karen likes serif because of 
conflict pairs that occur more frequently with sans-serif fonts. I like 
sans-serif with thinner letters because it is clean and I can detect the 
differences in letters better. Jon likes a thick sans-serif font. If you 
have not looked at the Low Vision Requirements doc from the Low Vision 
Task force you might find it interesting.

When we formed the low vision task force we invited lots of accessibility 
experts with low vision. Once in a meeting we each described our 
preferences for accommodations.  Of the eight members with low vision no 
two had the same preferences. 

Here are some good practices:
Since fonts people need can vary in width by a factor of 1.2 and 
letter-spacing can be increased by an additional 0.12em, make sure to 
enable change when the length of text changes. Text boxes and hard wired 
positioned fields are a problem with this.
When you use icon fonts use the ARIA parameter "role='img'".
If any other unusual use of font family where the exact font family is 
critical to the meaning, again use "role='img'". Example: Mathematical 
alphabets fall in this category. The capital "N" used to express the 
natural numbers comes from a special alphabet. The "N" I used would not be 
appropriate if I didn't define "N stands for the natural numbers".  The 
font family should never be changed in these cases. Each letter is an icon 
for a concept. Setting "role='img'" will say to the assistive technology 
that this font family must be seen exactly as it is, because the font 
family conveys meaning.
People like me are working on browser extensions to enable people to 
change font family to suit their individual needs will require information 
like that. 

That's probably TMI, Sorry,

Wayne

On Fri, Jun 22, 2018 at 5:32 AM Karlen Communications <
info@karlencommunications.com> wrote:
I can chime in ? I have difficulty reading sans-serif fonts because I 
can?t distinguish letter combinations like dl ? to me it appears as a 
single letter if the ligatures are not present. I also find thin fonts, 
even if serif, difficult to read. Visually, they seem to blend into the 
background too much. It is kind of like trying to see a twig in the grass 
versus a branch.
 
Cheers, Karen
 
From: Jonathan Avila <jon.avila@levelaccess.com> 
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2018 11:09 PM
To: Gian Wild <gian@accessibilityoz.com>; w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: RE: Font accessibility
 
I can?t provide you proof but I can speak from personal experience that 
thin line fonts are much harder for me to read.  Overly bold fonts are a 
problem as well because the shape of the letter then is harder to 
distinguish.
 
Jonathan
 
From: Gian Wild <gian@accessibilityoz.com> 
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2018 4:59 AM
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: Font accessibility
 
Hi
 
Does anyone have some research or evidence about the accessibility of 
different fonts? We have come across a very thin-lined font and we have 
been asked for proof that it is harder to read than normal font.
 
Thanks
Gian
 
(Sorry for cross-posting)
 
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