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Accessibility ​

Icons are pictures that show what something means without using words. They can be very helpful because they can quickly give information.

However, not everyone can understand them easily. When using icons it is very important to consider the following aspects of accessibility.

Provide visible labels ​

Icons are a helpful tool to improve perception, but they aren't a replacement for text.

In most cases, it is probably a good idea to also provide a textual representation of your icon's function.

In short: Don’t rely on communicating the function of elements by icons alone. Do also provide a written description of the your interactive elements. For example: write out "On this page" on your on-page navigation element.

Contrast ​

Ensure there's enough contrast between the icon and its background so that it's visible to people with low vision or color vision deficiencies.

We recommend following WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.3.

In short: use a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1

Use of color ​

Avoid relying solely on color to convey meaning in icons, as some users may have color blindness. Instead, use additional visual cues like shape, shading or text.

For example: Don’t mark state with color, mark it with distinct visuals.

Interactivity ​

Ensure that interactive icons are accessible via keyboard navigation and provide clear feedback when activated.

In most cases this is easily done by wrapping them in icon buttons.

Minimum target size ​

Small targets can be difficult to click or touch, if your icon is interactive, we recommend that it should have a minimum target size of 44×44 pixels.

In practice, this doesn't necessarily mean that the icon itself should be this large, only its interactive wrapper element.

Meaningfulness ​

Icons should represent concepts or actions in a universally understandable way. Avoid using abstract or ambiguous, or culture-specific symbols that might confuse some users.

For example: Use universally understandable symbols and don't base your choice of icon on puns.

Consistency ​

Maintain consistency in icon design and usage across your interface to help users learn and understand their meanings more easily.

For example: Don’t use the same icon for multiple distinct purposes or meanings. Don’t use different icons for the same purpose or function.

Text Alternatives ​

You may have to provide text labels or alternative text descriptions for icons, especially for screen readers used by people with visual impairments.

However: descriptions should only be provided to standalone icons that aren't purely decorative, as providing accessible names to non-functional elements only increases clutter when using screen readers.

On standalone icons ​

Icons are usually very unlikely to stand on their own with no semantically meaningful wrapper element. In most cases they will be part of a badge, button (including icon buttons), navigation item or other interactive UI element.

WARNING

In case some of your icons stand alone, and they serve a non-decorative function, make sure to provide the appropriate accessible label for them via the aria-label attribute.

In short: provide accessible label for semantic icons, but not for decorative icons.

In general try to avoid using functional icons with no interactivity, we recommend that:

  1. you either add a visible description next to them, or
  2. place them in badges, labels or on buttons, and at least add a tooltip to them.

In any such case, it is preferred that the accessible name be provided for these interactive elements (badges, buttons, nav items etc.) only, not the icons themselves.

On buttons ​

Do not provide an accessible label to icons when used on a button, as this label will be read out by screen readers, leading to nonsensical text.

On icon buttons ​

Icon buttons are buttons that do not contain any visible text apart from the icon itself (think of the close button of a dialog for example).

As previously stated, you should provide your accessible label on the icon button itself, not the contained icon.

Further resources ​

We also recommend checking out the following resources about accessibility: