Colour Contrast Analyser - color codes

Prerequisites

Install Colour Contrast Analyser for either Windows or Mac OS X.

This method assumes you have two hex color codes.

Steps

1. Launch Colour Contrast Analyser

2. Enter a color code into the Foreground Colour field for the text you're analyzing

3. Enter a color code into the Background Colour field for the background of the text you're analyzing

4. Verify that for Normal Text, you have a Pass (AA)

   • See Tool Interface section below for reference images

5. If the text you're checking does not Pass (AA) for Normal Text, create an issue (see Text has poor contrast below).

Tool Interface

• 1 - Foreground Color Code

• 2 - Background Color Code

• 3 - Foreground Color Picker

• 4 - Background Color Picker

• 5 - Normal Text Pass/Fail indicator

Windows Interface

Colour Contrast Analyser for Windows window

Mac OS X Interface

Colour Contrast Analyser for Mac OS X window

Creating Issues

Make sure to provide enough information to identify instances of text with poor contrast.

Your team may wish to list failures for all failings of a certain type of text (list text, navigation text, superscript text, etc.) in one issue.

Text has poor contrast

• Description: Text has poor contrast

  • Describe the type of text (ex. call to action button text has poor contrast) or use actual words as they appear on the page (ex. "THIS IS MORE THAN SUMMER SHOPPING" text has poor contrast)

  • Since you have the color codes, it may be useful to provide that information as well (ex. light grey text (#777777) has poor contrast with its white background (#FFFFFF)

• Priority: P2

• Label or Tag: #a11y143

Exceptions

See Color and Color Contrast Testing Methods for Exceptions.

Knowledge

Getting Hex Value of Text on the Page

Coming soon.

About

Author(s): Luis Garcia

Last Updated: 2017 April 07